The First Olympics Had Only One Event

For the first thirteen ancient Olympic Games, the entire festival revolved around a single, explosive moment. The sole competition was a sprint down a track, a distance said to equal 600 lengths of the hero Herakles's foot. This race, the stadion, was approximately 192 meters long and gave us the modern word "stadium." For over fifty years, the victor of the stadion was the only champion crowned at the games, and that Olympiad was officially named in his honor. The first recorded winner, in 776 BCE, was a cook from the nearby city of Elis named Koroibos.

These early games were less a sporting spectacle and more a core part of a religious festival dedicated to the Greek god Zeus. The single footrace was an act of worship. As the festival's popularity grew across the Greek world, new events were gradually introduced to expand the celebration. By the 5th century BCE, the games had blossomed into a five-day event featuring boxing, wrestling, chariot racing, and the grueling five-event pentathlon. Despite this expansion, the original stadion race always remained the premier event, and its champion was revered above all others.