Olympic Park Stadium

  • Photos
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  • Track Information

    Olympic Park Stadium is a former athletics track that served as the main athletics venue in Melbourne from 1951 to 2011.

    The stadium was located on the current site of Olympic Park Oval and also hosted soccer and rugby league matches.

    The venue was one of the first cinders athletics tracks in Australia, after the Poplar Road Athletics Track in Parkville (1936) and ES Marks Athletics Field in Sydney (1949). The track held its first meet on 27 January 1951 and served as a warm up track to the 1956 Olympic Games, which were held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

    A famous moment of sportsmanship occurred at the venue during the Mile at the 1956 Australian Championships, where John Landy stopped to help the fallen Ron Clarke, before taking flight over the final lap to still claim victory. The gesture is immortalised in a bronze statue that remains located at Olympic Park Oval.

    The venue was resurfaced to rubberised bitumen in 1973 and then to a modern synthetic surface (chevron) in March 1974. The final track surface was Mondo.

    Olympic Park Stadium hosted more editions of the Australian Championships than any other Australian venue, hosting the event on 14 occasions: 1952 (women only), 1956 (men only), 1957 (men only), 1964, 1969 (men only), 1974 (men only), 1976, 1983, 1984, 1990, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2011.  The venue also hosted a number of high profile one-day meets, including meets part of the IAAF Grand Prix Series. The 2001 IAAF Grand Prix Final was hosted at the venue, the only time the event was ever staged in the southern hemisphere.

    The final meet held at the venue was the 2011 Australian Championships.

    Athletics Victoria’s offices were located in the main grandstand.

    The track was demolished in 2011 to make way for Olympic Park Oval, which is primarily used as a training venue by AFL team, Collingwood Football Club.

  • Notable Performances
    Notable Performances:

    Olympic Park Track Records

    • 25 January 1956: Dave Stephens sets a world record in the 6-miles with a run of 27:54.0.
    • 28 January 1956: John Landy runs a 3:58.6 mile.
    • 12 March 1956: John Landy wins the Australian Mile title in 4:04.2 after stopping to help the fallen Ron Clarke.
    • 30 January 1958: Herb Elliott beats Merv Lincoln in a classic mile race, 3:58.7 to 3:59.0, with the duo passing 1500m en route in 3:44.1 and 3:44.3 respectively.
    • 22 March 1959: An Australian quartet of Dennis Wilson, Albie Thomas, John Murray and Herb Elliott set a world record of 16:25.6 in the 4xMile relay.
    • 18 December 1963: Ron Clarke sets a world record in the 10,000m with a run of 28:15.6, also recording a world record in the 6-miles en route with a run of 27:54.0.
    • 11 March 1963: Betty Cuthbert set a world record in the 440 yards with a time of 53.5 seconds.
    • 15 March 1964: An Australian quartet of Bob Lay, Gary Holdsworth, Tony Davis and Bill Earl set a world record in the 4×110 yards relay of 39.9 seconds.
    • 3 December 1964: Ron Clarke sets a world record in the 3-miles with a run of 13:07.6.
    • 6 February 1965: Pam Kilborn (Ryan) set a world record in the 80m hurdles with a run of 10.3 seconds.
    • 17 December 1969: Pam Ryan set a world record in the 200m hurdles with a run of 25.8 seconds
    • 25 November 1972: Pam Ryan set a world record in the 200m hurdles with a run of 25.7 seconds.
    • 30 November 1995: Emma George set a world record in the pole vault with a jump of 4.25m.
    • 29 February 1996: Cathy Freeman breaks 50 seconds over 400m for the first time, running 49.85 seconds at the NEC Classic.
    • 25 November 1996:  Sean Creighton (27:31.92) finishes second to Luke Kipkosgei (27:26.12) in the 10,000m at the Zatopek Classic, eclipsing Ron Clarke’s national record that had stood for 31 years.
    • 8 February 1997: Emma George set a world record in the pole vault with a jump of 4.50m.
    • 20 February 1997: Emma George set a world record in the pole vault with a jump of 4.55m.
    • 14 March 1998: Emma George set a world record in the pole vault with a jump of 4.58m.
    • 9 September 2001: IAAF Grand Prix Final, with winning performances including 3:31.25 over 1500m from Hicham El Guerrouj and 88.98m in the javelin from Jan Zelenzy.
    • 18 April 2011: Tamsyn Lewis wins the final race ever held at Olympic Park, the 400m at the Australian Championships.
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  • Traditional Owner
    Wurundjeri
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  • Facilities
    Track Length: 400m
    Number of lanes – circular: 8
    Number of Lanes – Straight: 10
    Water Jump: Yes – internal
    Long Jump Pits: 2
    High Jump Fans: 1
    Pole Vault Pits: 2
    Discus Circles: 1
    Shot Put Circles: 2
    Javelin Runways: 2
    Hammer Circles: 1
    Lighting: Yes
    Seating: Grandstand seating on the home and back straights. Terraced steps adjacent to the bends.
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  • 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



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