LAUSANNE, Switzerland, 19 December 2003 — The Olympics will return to the birthplace of the Ancient Games next summer after IOC officials yesterday approved plans by organizers of Athens 2004 to stage the shot put in the sleepy town of Olympia.
The IOC rubber-stamped the Greek plan which had last month received the backing of the International Association of Athletics Federations.
Both the men’s and women’s event will take place in the Stadium of Ancient Olympia on Aug. 18, Athens Olympics chief Gianna Angelopoulos said. The Ancient Stadium is a Greek national treasure and in its heyday — almost 3,000 years ago — would have held up to 30,000 spectators, organizers said.
Next summer’s shot put — 32 men and 32 women — will take place without grandstands, floodlights or any of the trappings of a modern sports venue. “Today the IOC Executive Board took an historic decision,” Angelopoulos said of the decision to approve the plan. “Ancient Olympia becomes part of the unique nature and authenticity of the Olympic Games of Greece.
“It becomes the timeless symbol marking the return of the Olympic Games to their homeland, and linking the ancient Olympic Games with the Games of the revival, in 1896, and with the modern Games.
Angelopoulos said organizers would respect the historical significance of the site. They can still, however, expect a battle with local archeological authorities.
The shot put is not the most glamorous discipline but one with a long tradition in the Games and will be the only event, apart from soccer, which is spread throughout the country, to be staged outside the Athens area. Nestled among lush olive groves and Cypress trees, Olympia nowadays is a far cry from the bustling ancient Greek sports capital which was the site of the first Games.
Olympia hosted the ancient Games every four years from at least 776 BC until they were banned in 393 AD by the Roman Emperor Theodosius who declaimed them as a pagan festival.
