Syracuse

Edwin Flack : th lion of Athens / by Peter Sweeney

Sweeney, Peter

Edited by Peter Sweeney - 2004

Edwin Flack was a trailblazer - the first Australian to compete at the Olympic Games, and first to win. When he left Melbourne in 1895 to study accountancy in London, he was the Australian mile champion. In 1896 he resolved to attend the Athens Games, the first of the modern Olympics; he took leave from his job, travelled across Europe by boat and train, and became the only Australian participant. By the end of the Games he possessed heroic status, and was followed in the streets by crowds who dubbed him The Lion of Athens.

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