The silver cup won more than a century ago by the winner of the first marathon run at the inaugural modern Olympics of 1896 in Athens, was purchased on April 18 for a record £ 541,250 pounds (€ 651,000) by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, at a Christie's auction in London.

The cup was put on auction by the descendents of Spyros Louis, the legendary Maroussi water-bearer who finished first at the 1896 Games’ Marathon run, earning himself a prominent place in the modern Greek sports pantheon.
  
The silver cup, named after French philologist Michel Breal, from whom the idea of the  first marathon race originates, stands only six inches tall. The Niarchos Foundation plans to put the cup on display at a state-of-the-art Culture Centre, at Faliro Bay, scheduled for completion in 2015.

"Breal's silver cup will be shared with the public and serve as a reminder of our (Greek) history, heritage and resilient spirit," foundation co-chair Andreas Dracopoulos said after the auction.

 

In Athens, Hellenic Olympic Committee (EOE) president Spyros Kapralos praised the purchase by the Niarchos Foundation, saying that the trophy "has a heightened symbolic significance, not only for the Olympic ideal and athletics, but also for Greece herself."