NEMEA, Greece (AP) – Fifty-five days before the Games begin in Rio de Janeiro, athletes from around the world are taking part in a no-frills Olympics: No national teams. No medals. No shoes.
Wearing only white tunics and running barefoot, athletes aged from 5 to 89 were competing Saturday in the Sixth Modern Nemean Games, a partial revival of ancient Greek games.
The races, run in age categories, only include a 90-meter sprint on a straight dirt course at a 2,300-year-old stadium and 7.5 kilometer run through fabled olive groves and vineyards run in the sounding area, where in ancient Greek mythology Hercules – god of strength, sport and fertility – slayed a fearsome lion.