Prehistory: Athens (1906) and Stockholm (1912). What we might call Basque Olympic prehistory, that is, the early beginnings, feature rowing and Lapurdi as the protagonists. In 1906, six rowers from Aviron Bayonnais took part in the Panhellenic Games, led by one of the legendary founders of this club, one of the most important in the whole of the Basque Country: Fernand Forgues. We have already mentioned their splendid achievement – a bronze medal. However, it is worth noting here that the Hellenic Games were games with all the Olympic conditions, even with more participants than the three previous editions. In some records, they are even considered equivalent to the Olympics themselves, although they do not influence the traditional numbering that was restarted in 1896. The apparent leitmotif of the celebration was precisely the tenth anniversary of that event. But, according to all indications, it must also have been the swan song of a claim that not long ago was back in the spotlight: to make the Greek capital the permanent venue for the Games. This went against the philosophy of Baron de Coubertin, the father of modern Olympism, who sought its universality by spreading it throughout the world. Six years later, in Stockholm, with all the conditions recognised as Olympic, another Bayonne rowing club made its Basque debut, under the French flag, with a crew entirely from Labourd. This was the Societé Nautique's eight-man outrigger, which, as French champions, had the honour of representing their country. Among others, the Elichegaray brothers were members of the crew. Their performance must not have been very brilliant, and there is an anecdote that our rowers only saw the French delegate at the Gare du Nord in Paris, as he abandoned them before they reached the Swedish capital.