Is it a street in Paris or Pantin? Actually the Allée Michel Thechi is located in Pantin. It’s named after Michel Théato. He was a Luxembourgish-born French long-distance runner.
Let’s step back in time to the 1900 Olympics. Imagine the excitement in Paris. Théato won the marathon. He ran for France. His winning time was 2:59:45.
Initially there were doubts. Some opponents thought Théato had cheated. They claimed he took shortcuts. They said he knew the Parisian streets well due to his job as a delivery boy. These claims were later proven false.
The rewards were quite modest. The first three finishers received porcelain pottery. One observer at the time called them objects of horror. Olympic gold, silver, and bronze medals weren’t introduced until 1904. The 1900 marathon winners received their medals retroactively in 1912. There was no ceremony.
Alain Bouillé, an athletics statistician, revealed something interesting at the end of the 20th century. Théato wasn’t yet French when he won the race. He was born in Luxembourg. He moved to France at the age of 12.
Luxembourg sought to reclaim the Olympic title. They lodged an official complaint with the International Olympic Committee. The request to change Théato’s nationality was rejected in 2004.
The IOC mistakenly displayed the Luxembourg flag on Michel Théato’s page in 2021. Some thought Luxembourg had officially regained the Olympic title. It was actually a technical error in the IOC database. The error has since been corrected.
After his Olympic victory, Théato became a professional runner. He didn’t have much success. His personal best in the marathon was 2:42 in 1901.
So here we are at Allée Michel Thechi. It’s a tribute to an Olympic champion. It’s a reminder of a fascinating story full of controversy. It involves national identity, and athletic achievement. It also reminds us about a technical error.