Yiannis Kouros facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Yiannis Kouros

Yiannis Kouros in 2008
Personal information
Born	(1956-02-13) 13 February 1956 (age 69) Tripoli, Kingdom of Greece
Website	http://www.yianniskouros.gr/index.php/en/
Sport
Sport	Track and Field
Event(s)	24-hour run, 48-hour run, 6-day race
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	Marathon: 2:24:00 Spartathlon: 20:25:00
Medal record Men's Ultramarathon (partial list) Gold Adelaide 24-hour run 1997 Gold Basel 24-hour run 1998 Gold IAU 24 Hour World Championship 2001 Gold Soochow University 24-hour run 2002 Gold 24-hour run San Giovanni Lupatoto 1999 Gold 24-hour run San Giovanni Lupatoto 2000 Gold Surgères 48 Hour Race 1995 Gold Surgères 48 Hour Race 1996 Gold Surgères 48 Hour Race 1997 Gold Surgères 48 Hour Race 2000 Gold Surgères 48 Hour Race 2002 Gold Surgères 48 Hour Race 2003 Gold Surgères 48 Hour Race 2004 Gold Australian Six Day Race – Colac 1984 Gold Australian Six Day Race – Colac 2000 Gold Cliff Young Australian 6-day race 2005 Gold Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon 1985 Gold Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon 1987 Gold Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon 1989 Gold Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon 1990 Gold Athens to Sparta Run 1983 Gold Athens to Sparta Run 1984 Gold Athens to Sparta Run 1986 Gold Athens to Sparta Run 1990

Yiannis Kouros (born February 13, 1956) is a famous Greek ultramarathon runner. An ultramarathon is a running race longer than a traditional marathon (which is about 42 kilometers or 26 miles). Kouros is known for holding many world records in very long races, from 100 miles to 1,000 miles.

He became well-known in 1984 when he won the Spartathlon race. This race goes from Athens to Sparta in Greece. He finished in a record time of 20 hours and 25 minutes. In 1985, he also won the Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon in Australia. He set a new record of 5 days, 5 hours, 7 minutes, and 6 seconds. This beat the previous record held by another famous runner, Cliff Young.

Yiannis Kouros lived in Australia for some time and became an Australian citizen in 1994. In 2019, he was added to the Australian Ultra Runners Association's Hall of Fame. This means he is recognized as one of the best ultra runners in Australia's history. He stopped competing in ultrarunning races around 2014.

Kouros has a special way of thinking about running. He says, "When other people get tired, they stop. I don't. I take over my body with my mind. I tell it that it's not tired, and it listens." This shows how strong his mind is when he runs. Besides running, Yiannis Kouros has also written over 1,000 poems. Some of his poems are in his books, Symblegmata and The Six-Day Run of the Century.

Amazing World Records

Yiannis Kouros holds many world records for running incredibly long distances. These records were officially recognized by the International Association of Ultrarunners as of February 2013.

Distance Records

These records show how fast he ran specific long distances.

Time Race Records

These records show how far he ran within a certain amount of time.

See also

• Multiday races
• Ultramarathon