Arthur Blake

Arthur Charles "Skipper" Blake (January 26, 1872 – October 23, 1944) was an American athlete who competed in the 1500 meters and the marathon at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Biography Blake was born on January 26, 1872, in Boston, Massachusetts. Blake competed for the Boston Athletic Association and it was after a 1000 yard race he said in jest "I'm too good for Boston, I ought to go over and run the Marathon, at Athens, in the Olympic Games", the comment was overheard by stockbroker Arthur Burnham, who then offered to finance a US team over to Greece. At the 1896 Olympics, the 1500 meters was run in a single heat, and Blake came in second to Edwin Flack of Australia. The race was a tight one, as Flack and Blake overtook the then-leader, Albin Lermusiaux, in the final straight and ran side-by-side nearly all the way to the finish. Flack proved the quicker, however, and finished in 4:33.2. This was less than a second faster than Blake's time of 4:33.6.