Koroibos: The Cook Who Won the First Olympics in 776 BC

Tales of Life: Ordinary People, Extraordinary True Stories · Oct 19, 2026 · 7m

The First Olympians, Episode 1 of 7. The true story of Koroibos of Elis, a cook who won the only race of the Olympic Games in 776 BC and became the first Olympic champion whose name we know. He ran one length of the stadium at Olympia, about 192 metres, and his prize was a wreath of wild olive. How do we know his name almost 2,800 years later, what historians still doubt, and how a French baron brought the Games back to life in Athens in 1896? This is the beginning of our seven-part series about the first Olympians.

Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Footrace amphora (ArchaiOptix, CC BY-SA 4.0)…