By Bruce MacDonald

Of the challenges involved in turning a marathon of 30,000 runners into a virtual experience, how to manage prize-giving to absent competitors was probably not at the top of anyone’s list of concerns. And yet, as Boston is arguably something much more than a marathon, its most prestigious awards are something much more than trophies.

In 1984, a team of local businessmen, legislators, diplomats, and marathon organizers recognized the connection between Athens, the birthplace of democracy, and Boston, the “Athens of America,” and sought to find a proper way in which to honor and celebrate it. Together they created a tradition of presenting the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) with olive branch wreaths to crown the four first-place winners of the Marathon. That team included then-Governor Michael Dukakis, then-Mayor Ray Flynn, then Consul General of Greece in Boston Christos Panagopoulos, directors of the BAA, then race director and now President of the 26.2 Foundation Timothy Kilduff, and Alpha Omega Council founding director Peter Agris.

Every year since then, this gift of Greece, made possible by the Council and the 26.2 Foundation, has been presented to the BAA by the Consul General of Greece in Boston during the Boston Marathon Wreath Ceremony, held days before the race. In recent years, the wreaths have been donated in memory of Stylianos Kyriakides, to honor his heroic 1946 Boston Marathon win.

The wreaths, hand-crafted from olive branches growing on the plains of Marathon, Greece, are a highly symbolic gift, rich in history and tradition. Winners of the ancient Olympic Games competed not for wealth of any sort, but for a simple woven wreath of olive branches. In 490 BC, citizen-soldiers from Athens, the world’s first democracy, assembled at Marathon, some 25-plus miles north of Athens, to confront an invading Persian army. The Athenians, although vastly outnumbered, managed to defeat the Persian attackers – news brought back to the city by the legendary runner Pheidippides.

Less well-remembered is that the Athenian soldiers in Marathon then also had to run back to Athens to defend it against the Persians, who had fled to their boats to sail to Athens and attack it by sea. Shocked to see the same Athenian soldiers again, the Persians gave up the fight and sailed home. The Athenian victory ultimately left Western civilization free to develop and flourish.

According to Herodotus, during the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC, the Persian general Tiritantaechmes wondered why so few Greek soldiers had been defending Thermopylae, a narrow, strategic coastal passage. He was told that all the other Greek men were participating in the Olympic Games. “Good heavens,” the general exclaimed. “What men are these against whom you have brought us to fight? Men who do not compete for possessions, but for virtue.”

With no Boston Marathon in 2020, the Alpha Omega Council sought new, appropriate recipients for the four gold wreaths created for this year’s winners, deciding to present them to the BAA, the Sports Museum of Boston, the Consulate of Greece in Boston, and the 26.2 Foundation, for permanent display and educational use.

The Council recently made its presentations to all of the recipients, a morning documented by a WBZ-TV film crew. Former BAA President JoAnn Flaminio was the first to receive a wreath from Consul General Stratos Efthymiou and Council President Nick Ypsilantis, at the site of the “Starter”’ statue on Hopkinton Common. The 26.2 Foundation, represented by Foundation Chairman Michael Neece and President Tim Kilduff, accepted its wreath under the statue of Stylianos Kyriakides in Hopkinton at Mile 1 of the Marathon course. In Boston, presentations were made to Executive Director Rusty Sullivan and Curator Richard Johnson of the Sports Museum at TD Garden, and then to Consul General Efthymiou at the Consulate on Beacon Street.

“In recognition of its support of the Boston Marathon and its celebration of its origins in ancient Greece and its symbolism of the effort required of citizens to maintain independent government,” stated the letter that accompanies each gifted wreath. As Ypsilantis put it: “Common civic events such as the Marathon attract people to Boston from all over the world. They remind us that we’re one human race, with similar dreams and aspirations – dignity, freedom and democracy.”

Entering its 45th year, The Alpha Omega Council is composed of Americans of Hellenic ancestry from across a wide spectrum of professions. Its mission is to cultivate the ideals of Hellenism, maintain positive Greek-American relations, unite Americans of Greek descent in fellowship and philanthropy, and recognize the achievements of those who excel in their field individually or as a group. Since its inception, the Alpha Omega Council has contributed over $2,000,000 to numerous philanthropic causes, as well as over $600,000 through the annual Peter Agris Memorial Journalism Scholarship Awards.

For questions, contact Nick Ypsilantis at nhypsilantis@alphaomegacouncil.org.

Click here to view the WBZ TV taped Presentation.

Photo at Starting Line



• Peter Lemonias – Alpha Omega Council, Past President
• Stratos Efthymiou – Consul General of Greece to Boston
• Brendan Tedstone – Chairman Select Board, Hopkinton
• John Kopellas – Alpha Omega Council, Wreath Ceremony Chair
• Nick Ypsilantis – Alpha Omega Council, President
• Costa Sideridis – Alpha Omega Council, Vice President
• Michael Neece – Chairman, 26.2 Foundation>

Sports Museum Presentation



• Nick Ypsilantis – Alpha Omega Council, President
• Rusty Sullivan – Executive Director, Sports Museum
• Stratos Efthymiou – Consul General of Greece to Boston
• Richard A. Johnson – Curator, Sports Museum
• Michael Neece – Chairman, 26.2 Foundation

26.2 Presentation



• Peter Lemonias – Alpha Omega Council, Past President
• Nick Ypsilantis – Alpha Omega Council, President
• Michael Neece – Chairman, 26.2 Foundation
• Stratos Efthymiou – Consul General of Greece to Boston
• John Kopellas – Alpha Omega Council, Wreath Ceremony Chair
• Rev Fr. Athanasios Nenes – Presbyter, Taxiarchae/Archangels Greek Orthodox Church, Watertown
• Costa Sideridis – Alpha Omega Council, Vice President
• Brendan Tedstone – Chairman Select Board, Hopkinton

BAA Wreath Ceremony



• Brendan Tedstone – Chairman Select Board, Hopkinton
• Stratos Efthymiou – Consul General of Greece to Boston
• Nick Ypsilantis – Alpha Omega Council, President
• Joann E. Flaminio, VP/Clerk, BAA
• Tim Kilduff – President & Founder, 26.2 Foundation

Consulate Wreath Presentation



• Tim Kilduff – President & Founder, 26.2 Foundation
• Stratos Efthymiou –Consul General of Greece to Boston
• Nick Ypsilantis – Alpha Omega Council, President