Leonidas from Rhodes

Leonidas of Rhodes is one of the wrongdoers of history. Although he was a model athlete with unique achievements in his career, yet few know him. Leonidas was born on the island of Rhodes in the 2nd century BC. He was a runner in all three events of the time, the stadion, the track (diaulos) and the hoplite road. He emerged as a triathlete, after he managed to finish first in all three sports on the same day. He repeated this achievement in 4 consecutive Olympiads, the 154th, the 155th, 156th and 157th Olympiad. Precisely because of these victories, he emerged as the most victorious athlete in the history of the ancient Olympic games. Philostratos the Athenian, in his report “Gymnastikos”, analyzes further the achievement of Leonidas, explaining that the three sports in which he excelled required completely different physical characteristics. The stadion and the diaulos, foot races of some 200 and 400 meters respectively, were best suited to sprinters, while the hoplitodromos (a diaulos performed with bronze armor and shield) required more muscular strength and endurance. How difficult and unique his achievement was is proven to be unprecedented in human history as his total of victories was surpassed after 2,168 years in modern Olympic games by American swimmer Michael Phelps in 2016, who won his 13th Olympic medal of Rio de Janeiro. However, in athletics he remains unsurpassed…