Stamata Revithi

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Stamata Revithi was a Greek woman who attempted to compete at the 1896 Summer Olympics.

Revithi, a poor woman traveling from Piraeus to Athens, was passing through the city of Marathon, Greece shortly before the beginning of the marathon race invented for the Olympic program by Michel Bréal. She was told by event organizers that, as a woman, she was not allowed to take part in the race, on 10 April, 1896. As a gesture of protest, Revithi ran the course the next day. Her time over the course was about five and a half hours, part of which Revithi claimed was spent looking at ships along the way rather than running.

She was given the nickname Melpomene, after the Greek Muse of tragedy.

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