What did the Ancient Greeks award sporting event winners?

Winners got a crown mabe of olive leaves and some even had statues of themselves put up so the public could abmire them.

Well the answer came back "Celery"...according to the radio station that asked the question.

A number of Ancient Greek cities held sporting events. In Olympia, the original Olympic Games, the prize was a crown of olive leaves, from an olive tree that grew just outside the Temple of Zeus (the one that held one of the Seven Wonders of the World).

In Delphi, the home of the Delphic Oracle, the games were called the Pythian games, and the prize was a crown of laurel (bay) leaves.

In Isthmia, the Isthmian games, I believe the prize was a crown of parsley, although I'm not 100% sure of this off the top of my head. I'm sure someone can look it up. There was certainly one city which awarded a crown of parsley, but I'm not sure that it was Isthmia.

The winner was also celebrated as a hero when he returned to his own city. One record in Athens says that an Athenian winner of the Olympic Games was entitled to a free dinner at the town hall every day for the rest of his life.

Both Nemea and Isthmia had games in which the winner was awarded a wreath of parsley. Some sites list this as "wild celery".