Carlo Airoldi

Carlo Airoldi (21 September 1869 in Origgio – 18 June 1929 in Milan) was an Italian marathon runner, famous for walking to the 1896 Olympics.

He sought money from the director of a well known magazine of the time - "La Bicicletta", and Airoldi proposed to travel cheaply.

He would go on foot through Austria, Turkey and Greece - an adventurous journey that forced him to cover 70 km per day in order to arrive in Athens on time.

He decided that the money received for winning the Milano-Barcelona competition meant that Airoldi was considered a professional athlete and thus not eligible to compete.

On his return home, Airoldi attempted many times to beat the record of Spiridon Louis without ever succeeding.