Michel Théato
Michel Johann Théato was a Luxembourgish born French long-distance runner, and the winner of the marathon at the 1900 Olympics in Paris running for France. He was born in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg and died in Paris, France.
Early life
Little is known about Théato's early life. For many years it was believed he was a baker's delivery boy in Paris. He also worked for some time as a cabinetmaker. In the 20th century, Alain Bouillé discovered that Théato was born in Luxembourg and had moved to Belgium before settling down in the Paris suburbs. There is no evidence that Théato ever applied for French citizenship. Théato was a member of the athletics club in Saint-Mandé in Paris.1900 Olympics
The marathon started at 2:30pm in blazing heat. There were only 13 starters of the race, of whom 6 finished. Théato won the race with a time of 2:59:45 with 4 min 32 s ahead of Émile Champion and 37 min 39 s over Sweden's Ernst Fast under the eyes of more than 5,000 spectators.Théato's victory was initially disputed, as several of his opponents, including American runner Arthur Newton, who finished fifth, alleged that Théato had cheated by taking multiple shortcuts, helped by his local knowledge of the Parisian streets through his job as a delivery boy. These allegations have since been disproved.
The first three finishers only receive as rewards after the race porcelain pottery, of no real value, provided by an ungenerous industrialist; these were commented on at the time as being “objects of horror” or even “hardware”.
Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals were not introduced until the following Olympiad in Saint-Louis in 1904, and the winners of the 1900 marathon did not receive their medals retroactively until 1912, without ceremony.