Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre

  • Photos
    • 1773724775088 2 768x576
    • 650380526 1358941926275472 2063463366973298094 n 768x576
    • 1773724771019 768x576
    • 1773724770957 768x576
    • Former track up to 2025

      Former track up to 2025

    • Former track up to 2025

      Former track up to 2025

    • Aerial view of SOPAC and its warm up track

      Aerial view of SOPAC and its warm up track

  • Track Information

    The Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre is Sydney’s premier athletics venue. It’s name is abbreviated as SOPAC, by which it is often referred.

    The venue was opened as the Sydney International Athletics Centre on 12 March 1994 at the Australian Championships by Betty Cuthbert, whom the grandstand is named after. It has served as Sydney’s main athletics venue since.

    The venue hosted the 1996 World Junior Championships and served as the warm-up track for the 2000 Olympic Games, being connected by a tunnel to Stadium Australia, where the Olympic competition was held.

    Following the Olympic Games the name of the venue was changed from Sydney Olympic Athletics Centre (SOPA) to Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre (SOPAC).

    In the lead up to the 2000 Olympic Games the venue hosted several high profile editions of the Sydney Grand Prix meet. Except for five years (2002-2004 and 2026, where no Sydney meet was held; and 2024, where ES Marks was used), the track has hosted Sydney’s annual high performance meet since opening (variously, the Sydney Grand Prix, Sydney University Track Classic and Sydney Track Classic).

    The track was last resurfaced in March 2026 in a duotone blue Rekortan surface. The resurfacing was several months delayed, causing impact to the NSW and Australian 2026 season, including the cancellation of the 2026 Sydney Track Classic.

    In 2026 the venue will celebrate hosting of its 13th Australian Championships, the most of any current athletics track in Australia, surpassing the Queensland Sport & Athletics Centre. Only the former Olympic Park in Melbourne has hosted more Australian Championships, 14, counting eras where men and women often had separate championships. SOPAC has hosted the Australian Championships in 1994, 1995, 1996, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2026.

    On the promenade behind the grandstand is the Path of Champions, which honours NSW athletes who have won an Olympic or world title, or have held a world record. The 14 athletes features with bronze plaques are:

    • Nick Winter
    • Jack Metcalfe
    • Marjorie Jackson
    • Betty Cuthbert
    • Fleur Mellor
    • Marlene Mathews
    • Albie Thomas
    • Denis Wilson
    • Betty Moore
    • Bob Lay
    • Maureen Caird
    • Jennifer Lamy
    • Kerry Saxby
    • Jana Rawlinson

    The venue is managed by the Sydney Olympic Park Authority, with the track regularly used for school carnivals and Athletics NSW’s competition, as well as being available (along with the venue’s warm up track) for training.

    Blue and Red American Football Logo 3Blue and Red American Football Logo 14The venue finished third in Australia’s Favourite Athletics Track competition in 2021 and 2024.

     

     

     

     

     

    World Athletics Class 1 FacilityThe track is a World Athletics Class 1 Certified Facility.

  • Notable Performances
    Notable Performances:

    Track records

    • 10-13 March 1994: Australian Championships, with a national record in the 400m by Renee Poetschka with a run of 50.19 seconds.
    •  2-5 March 1995: Australian Championships, with Great Britain’s Colin Jackson setting an Australian Allcomers record of 13.32 seconds in the 110m hurdles. Melinda Gainsford was just outside Cathy Freeman’s 200m national record of 22.25s, with a run of 22.33s into a 2.6 m/s headwind.
    • 17 February 1996: Australian Allcomers record of 69.46m in the hammer throw by Russia’s Olga Kuzenkova.
    • 7-10 March 1996: Australian Championships, with a national record in the decathlon from Peter Winter with 8,084 points.
    • 20-25 August 1996: World Junior Championships, with 141 countries represented. Winners included future Olympic champions Tereza Marinova, who set a world junior record in the triple jump with 14.62m; and Osleidys Menendez, who won the javelin in 60.96m. Championship records were set by Assefa Mezgebu (5000m, 13:35.30) and Mubarak Al-Nubi (400m hurdles, 49.07). Australia won 10 medals via Paul Burgess (pole vault gold in 5.35m), Justin Anlezark (shot put silver in 18.21m), Lauren Hewitt (200m silver in 23.32), Grant Cremer (800m bronze in 1:48.46), Nathan Deakes (10000m walk bronze in 41:11.44), 4x100m relay team of Peter Missingham, David Baxter, Paul Pearce and Paul Di Bella (bronze in 39.62), Clay Cross (shot put bronze in 17.69m), Steven Maddeo (javelin bronze in 73.88m), Rosemary Hayward (400m bronze in 53.28) and 4x400m relay team of Jennifer Marshall, Tamsyn Lewis, Josephine Fowley and Rosemary Hayward (bronze in 3:32.47).
    • 27 January 1997: Optus Grand Prix, with a crowd of 12,000 people attending to see Carl Lewis as the headline act as part of an international farewell tour. Lewis finished 7th in the 100m.
    • 28 February 1998: Sydney Track Tour, with Daniel Komen narrowly missing his own 2 miles world record by two-tenths of a second with a run of 7:58.91. Australian Allcomers records were set by Maurice Greene who ran 9.99 seconds for 100m and Jeff Hartwig, who cleared 5.90m in the pole vault. Now disgraced sprinter Marion Jones won the 200m in 21.98s.
    • 6 February 1999: Australian Allcomers record in the hammer throw by Olga Kuzenkova with a throw of 69.46m
    • 20 February 1999: Optus Grand Prix, with Emma George setting a world record in the pole vault with a leap of 4.60m. Frankie Fredericks set an Australian Allcomers record of 9.94 for 100m. Lee Troop ran 7:41.78 over 3000m to finish just short of the 7:41.60 national record held by Sean Creighton, finishing third behind Luke Kipkosegei (7:39.22). Colin Jackson won the 110m hurdles in 13.30s.
    • 16 February 2001: Telstra Grand Prix, with a national record set in the 3000m by Craig Mottram in 7:41.35.
    • 13 March 2021: Sydney Track Classic, with Nina Kennedy setting an Australian record in the pole vault with a jump of 4.82m.
    • 16 March 2025: Sydney Track Classic, with a 4x100m quartet of Lachlan Kennedy, Joshua Azzopardi, Christopher Ius and Calab Law setting an Australian record of 37.87 seconds.
  • Spikes

    The following spikes are most suitable to use at this venue:

  • Social
  • Traditional Owner
    Wann-gal
  • Upcoming Meets

      No listings were found matching your selection. Something missing? Why not add a listing?.

  • Map

    No Records Found

    Sorry, no records were found. Please adjust your search criteria and try again.

    Google Map Not Loaded

    Sorry, unable to load Google Maps API.

  • Facilities
    Track Length: 400m
    Number of lanes – circular: 9
    Number of Lanes – Straight: 12
    Water Jump: Yes – external
    Long Jump Pits: 4
    High Jump Fans: 2
    Pole Vault Pits: 4
    Discus Circles: 2
    Shot Put Circles: 4
    Javelin Runways: 2
    Hammer Circles: 1
    Lighting: Yes
    Seating: 5,000 seated in covered grandstand
  • Reviews

    Leave a Review.

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Overall:
    Select a rating
  • Track Etiquette

    Do’s and Dont’s of Track Etiquette


    Athletics tracks are shared spaces that cater to a variety of training disciplines, from distance running to sprinting, hurdling, and field events. With so many athletes using the track simultaneously, good etiquette is essential to ensure safety, fairness, and longevity of the facility. Based on insights from experienced Australian athletics experts, here’s a comprehensive guide to track etiquette, highlighting areas of consensus and some points of contention. >> Read more



Nearby

Inside Athletics Inside Athletics