"The Stylianos Kyriakides Story - Winner of the 1946 Boston Marathon" article, MyParea, April 22, 2012
article printed in MyParea, April 22, 2012.
"Today is the Greek Independence Day parade in Boston and area Greek Americans are on the city streets showing their Greek pride.
66 years ago April 20th 1946 another outpouring of Greek pride took place in Boston that will go down as one of the greatest moments in Greek American history. Greek marathon runner Stylianos Kyriakides came from Greece and won the Boston Marathon. This famous sporting event was started in 1897 by Bostonians who were inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the first modern Olympics - the 1896 Summer Olympics that were held in Athens Greece.
In 1946 Greece lay in ruins from the devastation of World War II with the Greek Civil War causing further starvation and damage to the wounded nation. A young man named Stylianos Kyriakides who had represented Greece as a runner in the 1936 Berlin Olympics decided to compete in the 50th Boston Marathon - a race that he had failed to complete once before. He had barely escaped execution by the Nazis during the brutal occupation of Greece and his body was ravaged from years of going hungry but he was determined to do his part to help Greece." . . . . READ MORE
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