On our recent trip to Athens, we wanted to balance looking at ruins with fun activities for our teenagers. Because it was New Years, we knew the weather would be a gamble. Certainly not expecting beach weather, we planned for a little more sun and a lot less cold than we got while there. We can’t control the weather so we proceeded along.
With our walking tour, cooking class, and day trip planned, I thought we needed one more thing planned. Because of the rave reviews on TripAdvisor, we booked an Olympic Games Workout and Tour through Alternative Athens.
Know a Little Ancient Olympic History
We met our tour guide at Zappeion Hall for a brief warm up (jog around the area) and history lesson. The Ancient Olympic games go way back, like to 776 B.C. and were religious and athletic festivals held every four years in Olympia, Greece. Representatives from neighboring kingdoms, cities, etc. came to compete. As we discovered on our trip, the Greek myths are interwoven into history. Often it’s hard to disguise real history with those of Gods, centaurs, and cyclops. But legend has it Heracles and his father Zeus were the great minds behind the Olympic Games.
As one might expect, only men competed in the Ancient Games featuring running events, a pentathlon (consisting of a jumping event, discus and javelin throws, a foot race, and wrestling), boxing, wrestling, and chariot racing. In addition to men only competing, men only could attend the games. The competitors were naked during the Games.
While starting to lose its popularity as the Romans made their way into Greece, the Games continued on through 393 AD until Emperor Theodosius I, a Christian, declared all activities these activities pagan. And thus they ended.
Related: Tips for First-Time Visitors Adventuring Through Athens
Add in the Modern Olympic History
Then in 1896 the Olympic Games, as we know them, came back to Greece. Bringing together 14 nations, 241 athletes competed in 43 events in a stadium rebuilt on the site of an ancient race horse stadium. The Athens Panathenaic Stadium is the only stadium in the world made entirely of marble. Today it is the finish line for the Athens Marathon.
The marathon originated in Greece with the legend of Philippides the Greek messenger who was sent from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce the Persians had been defeated in 490 BC. He ran the entire distance without stopping and burst into the assembly, exclaiming “we have won,” before collapsing and dying. Whew. And then they made it an event at the Olympic Games in 1896.
Related: Taking a Peloponnese Day Trip from Athens
Getting Ready to Train: Discus, Javelin, Shot Put, Jumps
We walked over to a nearby outdoor training facility, which is open for the public. Our lovely tour guide Nicole, a personal trainer at an Athens top gym, handed us our score cards to track our progress of each sporting event. Side note: The weather was so horrible this day so we did what we could in the freezing rain.
Starting with the javelin, Nicole taught us with real poles how to run, twist, and throw. Due to the space and probably safety, she moved our javelin throwing to foam swim noodles (funny, right), and we competed against each other to declare a winner. By the way, the winner was me!
Time for the discus. This was the sport we had all be waiting for. First we started with a plastic light-weight discus to practice the technique, which wasn’t easy. With it lightly held in your hand, we had to use our legs and momentum to twist and turn. Apparently, there are even special exercises for your fingers to help the professionals grip and spin the discus from their hands. When we moved onto the real wood, heavy discus it was surprising how far it could go with a flip of the wrist.
After a few jumping competitions (where the kids completely beat the adults), Nicole gave us each given a shot put ball of varying weight. We were all surprised that you push the the ball and not throw it, which then made it way easier to move up in the weight when we “perfect” our form. In competition, women use a 4 kg shot and men an 8 kg shot.
Related: Learning to Cook Greek Food in Athens
Taking the Final Lap Around the Track
After a couple of hours “training” to be Olympians, we walked across the street to the Panathenaic Stadium. Because the weather was still rainy and colder, our lap around the track was very quick! Since the stadium is completely in marble, I wasn’t excited to walk to the top. We’d already had a few slips on marble earlier in the week. So instead we popped into the small museum, which gives a brief look at the official Olympic Game posters and their corresponding torches. Yes, the torches are there for viewing.
All other photos ©Linda Kerr, TravelTeening
