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The Silver Cup, awarded to Spyros Louis for his victory in the marathon of the first modern Olympic Games, held in Athens in 1896, will be offered at auction by Christie's auction house on 18 April in London.

The decision was taken by Spyros Louis’ grandson, who is named after his grandfather - Spyros Loukas (Louis) and today is a 72-year-old retiree. Spyros never knew his grandfather, who died a few days before his birth. "It was definitely not an easy decision. The Cup has always been located in a prominent place in our home. My children and I have grown up with it. But I could not have acted otherwise," he says.

For two years he had been trying to find a buyer so that the Cup could remain within the borders of Greece. "I turned to the authorities, ministries, secretariats, etc. I only did not turn to the Amarousiou municipality because until now they have paid their respects to Spyros Louis in many ways and I decided it would be too much to bother them again. All justified their refusals with the lack of money. Maybe this was the real reason. I would not have done it myself, if circumstances were different."

Spyros Louis’ desire is for the Cup to be sold to a Greek collector and to be displayed in a place accessible to the public. "This, however, is no longer a decision that can be made by me."

The value of the Cup is calculated to be between 189 000 and 253 000 US Dollars. Christie's auction house describes the Cup as a "valuable object, and if anyone is interested in Olympic Games memorabilia they should definitely get it." Meanwhile a total of 179 past Olympic Games subjects will be displayed, such as torches and posters. The "highlight" in the auction, however, is the 15 cm high Silver Cup, created by the inspirer of the marathon Michel Bréal.

Growing up with the name of a legend

For most Greeks, Spyros Louis is a legend. This is one of those cases where the border between myth and reality is pretty fuzzy. "For us it was not this way. Spyros Louis was always present in our home, in the stories our parents told us and, of course, as a role model. Even from the part of physical education teachers in my school years. Whenever I was not achieving good results they used to tell me: “as a Spyros Louis you must be good at sports”.”

Spyros Louis's grandson lost his father when he was 11 years old. Several years later he began collecting all kinds of objects relating to his grandfather, who won the precious trophy in the Olympics. "I was collecting everything: photos, articles, awards, and even film materials. In particular, footage from Lenny Riefenstahl’s movie "Olympia: Festival of Nations", dedicated to the 1936 Olympic Games. In this film 64-year-old Spyros Louis, dressed in traditional costume, goes out into the stadium with other Greek athletes. All that will remain in our home and in our family. I wish I could have kept the Cup as well."

Regarding the desire of Spyros Louis’ descendants to offer the Silver Cup, awarded to the first Greek winner of the marathon in 1896, at an auction, the Governing Board of the Olympic Museum convened an extraordinary meeting in order to set up a committee which will try to preserve the national relic so that it can remain forever in the country where the Olympics were born - Greece.

A message of the Olympic Museum says: "It is our duty for one of the most historic symbols of the Olympic Games, which is directly related to Greek sporting history, to stay in our country and to be passed down to subsequent generations, while preserving the historical memory from the most important moments in modern Greek history."

The Governing Council of the Olympic Museum offered to Voula Patoulidou to head the committee and try to return the historic Cup, and the Olympic champion accepted the offer without hesitation. The members of the committee will be chosen in the coming days and they will seek financial support from major companies operating in Greece in order to increase the chances of gaining the valuable relic.

Voula Patoulidou clearly defined the mission of the established committee: "We must get the Cup, we must save what we can from our historical memory and heritage. I, personally, will do whatever is necessary. This Cup, this historical moment, cannot be taken from our country. Along with the Olympic Museum I urge anyone who can and wants to help. All together we have achieved many things. Together we will win. We can and we deserve it."

On Monday, 12 March at 11.30 a.m. a press conference will be held at the Olympic Museum amphitheatre, with the participation of Voula Patoulidou. At the press conference it will be announced what should be done in order for the Cup of the Olympic champion Spyros Louis to remain in its home country.