Charilaos Vasilakos wins the first modern Olympic marathon race with a time of three hours and 18 minutes.

Charilaos Vasilakos was a Greek athlete and the first man to win a marathon race. He also won a silver medal for a second place finish in marathon at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.

The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of 42.195 kilometres, usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair divisions. More than 800 marathons are held worldwide each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes, as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.

March 22 is the 81st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 284 days remain until the end of the year.