The dusty old Olympic Park was never really considered a venue for world class athletics until John Landy ran 4:02.1 for the mile on 13 December 1952. And with the awarding of the Olympic Games to Melbourne and subsequent redevelopment of the venue, Olympic Park Stadium became Victoria's home to athletics since the mid 1950's.
Early in 1954, the first of a series of twilight meetings offered Landy better conditions, and drew over 20,000 spectators (causing traffic jams). As the Games approached, the venue became the scene for one of the most cherished sporting moments in Australian history. In the 1956 Australian Mile Championship (an Olympic qualifying event), John Landy famously went back to help a fallen young star in Ron Clarke, before sprinting away to win the race anyway in remarkable time.
Landy's successor Herb Elliott enjoyed a rivalry with American Merv Lincoln which was played out on the Olympic Park track before Ron Clarke emerged as the next big thing in Australian Athletics. Olympic Park was the venue for his first two world records, at six miles/10,000m in December, 1963, and at three miles in December, 1964. By the 1970s and 1980s it was female sprinters Raelene Boyle and Denise Robertson-Boyd who thrilled Olympic Park crowds with their clashes.
The final golden era for Olympic Park began with the establishment of what is now the Melbourne Track Classic in the late 1980s. The meeting was a huge success from the start and was soon awarded IAAF Grand Prix status. Consequently, local talent bloomed with the likes of Cathy Freeman and Melinda Gainsford-Taylor, high jumper Tim Forsyth, Pole Vault stars Emma George, Dmitri Markov and Steve Hooker, jumpers Gary Honey, Dave Culbert, Peter Burge, Jai Taurima and Bronwyn Thompson, hurdlers Debbie Flintoff-King, Rohan Robinson and Kyle Vander-Kuyp, middle-distance stars Simon Doyle and Pat Scammell, distance runners Andrew Lloyd and Steve Moneghetti.
International stars such as Mike Powell, Moses Kiptanui, Linford Christie, Colin Jackson and, in the pre-Sydney 2000 build-up, Maurice Greene, Frank Fredericks and Marion Jones also enhanced the fields.
Meanwhile, the Zatopek 10, first run in 1961, is the oldest named distance running meet in the world. The Zatopek 10km race, named in honour of the great Czech distance runner Emil Zatopek, continues to stamp itself as the premier distance meet on the Australian calendar with its strong fields and long history of great winners including Steve Moneghetti, Rob de Castella, Lee Troop, Kerryn McCann and Craig Mottram.
Apart from the many elite level stars to grace the track, Olympic Park Stadium hosted a multitude of junior and school athletics competitions, as well as people with disabilities, masters and National 'A' grade competitions.
The Olympic Park sports ground is now under redevelopment, and will begin a new phase in its history in 2012 as an AFL training ground and public space.
A new athletics facility at Lakeside Stadium (Albert Park) has been opened. Enquiries should be directed to the State Sport Centre Trust on 03 9926 1512.
Click here for Athletics Victoria's website.
