Venues of the 1896 Summer Olympics

The Venues of the 1896 Summer Olympics consisted of seven venues that hosted events for the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Panathinaiko Stadium was the main venue, hosting four of the nine sports contested. The city of Marathon served as host to the actual marathon and the individual road race events. Swimming made its debut in the Bay of Zea while fencing was held at the Zappeion. Sport shooting was held in Kallithea. Tennis made its debut in Greece at the Athens Lawn Tennis Club, a sport unfamiliar to Greeks at the time of the 1896 Games.

Venues

Venue Sports Capacity Ref.
Athens Lawn Tennis Club Tennis Not listed. [1]
Bay of Zea Swimming Not listed. [2]
Kallithea Shooting Not listed. [3]
Marathon (city) Athletics (Marathon (sport)), Cycling (Individual road race).Not listed. [4]
Neo Phaliron Velodrome Cycling (track) Not listed. [5]
Panathinaiko Stadium Athletics, Gymnastics, Weightlifting, and Wrestling 80,000 [6]
Zappeion Fencing Not listed. [7]

The Bay of Zea was used as the swimming venue because the organizers of the Games refused to spend money on constructing a special purpose swimming venue.[8]

After the Olympics

Four of the 1896 venues were reused as competition venues for the 2004 Games. The velodrome would be renovated into a football stadium in 1964 and was known as Karaiskakis Stadium.[9] This venue was renovated in 2003 for use as a football venue for the 2004 Games.[10] During the 2004 Games, Panathinaiko Stadium served as host for archery competitions and was the finish line for the athletic marathon event.[11] The city of Marathon itself served as the starting point for both marathon events during the 2004 Games.[12] The Zappeion served as the first home of the organizing committee (ATHOC) for the 2004 Games from 1998 to 1999, and served as the main communications center during those Games.[13][14]

The Bay of Zea is a seaport and marina in the Athens area.[15] Meanwhile the Athens Lawn and Tennis Club remains popular in Greece and helped expose the country to tennis for the first time.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 History of the Athens Lawn Tennis Club. (English) & (Greek) - accessed 3 October 2010.
  2. ↑ Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Swimming (Men): 100-Meter Freestyle". In The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press Limited. pp. 897-8.
  3. ↑ 1896 Summer Olympic official report. Volume 2. pp. 83-4. Accessed 3 October 2010.
  4. ↑ 1896 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. pp. 86-90, 100-2. Accessed 3 October 2010.
  5. ↑ 1896 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. pp. 74-75, 97-99. Accessed 3 October 2010.
  6. ↑ 1896 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. pp. 31-49. Accessed 3 October 2010.
  7. ↑ Zappeion history. - accessed 3 October 2010.
  8. ↑ Lennartz, Karl; Wassong, Stephen (2004). "Athens 1896". In John E. Findling, Kimberly D. Pelle. Encyclopedia of the Modern Olympic Movement. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-32278-3. OCLC 52418065.. p. 23.
  9. ↑ Stadia.gr profile of Karaiskakoid Stadium in 1895, 1964, and 2003. - accessed 3 October 2010.
  10. ↑ 2004 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. p. 324. Accessed 3 October 2010.
  11. ↑ 2004 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. pp. 237, 242, 244. Accessed 3 October 2010.
  12. ↑ 2004 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. p. 242. Accessed 3 October 2010.
  13. ↑ 2004 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 1. pp. 116-7.. Accessed 3 October 2010.
  14. ↑ 2004 Summer Olympics official report. Volume 2. p. 20. (Listed as Zappeio). Accessed 3 October 2010.
  15. ↑ Worldportsource.com profile of the Zea, Greece marina. - accessed 4 July 2010.