The first Olympic marathon runners covered the distance between Athens and the city of Marathon, after which the race is named. However, it wasn’t until the Paris Olympics in 1924 that the distance became what it is today.
Fast-forward to the end of the 19th century. In 1894, French historian Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which inaugurated the Modern Era Olympic Games. A friend of Coubertin, Michel Bréal, suggested that the marathon be included in the Games. Naturally, the distance could only be the same as the one that the long-distance runner Pheidippides covered in the legend.
And so it was. In the first Olympics, held in Athens in 1896, the marathon course covered the exact distance between Marathon and the host city. However, since there wasn’t an established rule, the route in the 1900 Olympics increased to 40.26 km. In St. Louis, USA, in 1904, it reverted to 40 km. Then in 1908, in London, the distance became 42.195 km. Why this specific number? The reason is simple.
The Olympic Committee only stipulated that the marathon needed to be between 38 and 41 km. The British used this flexibility to start the race from inside Windsor Castle, the royal residence—a way to keep the common public away and avoid crowds. The finish line was at the White City stadium, in front of the British royal family. The course was exactly 42.195 km.
In the following Games, the distance underwent new variations. To avoid further changes, it was established at the Paris Olympics in 1924 that the 42.195 km route would be the standard. The marathon distance has remained the same since then and was repeated exactly a century later at the Paris 2024 Games.