IAAF Delegation to 2004 Olympic venues (© ATHOC)
IAAF General Secretary Istvan Gyulai led an IAAF delegation, 22-23 September, on a site visit to the offices and competition facilities of the Athens 2004 Olympics.
The IAAF officials were briefed in detail on the progress of preparations for the Olympic Athletics competition. The briefings were provided by ATHOC Executive Director Spyros Capralos, General Manager for Sports Makis Asimakopoulos, Competition Manager Yannis Gounaris, Sports Planning Manager Eleni Michopoulou, Sports Services Manager Anita Spring and Sports Sector Manager Evangelos Papapostolou.
They were briefed on issues of hospitality, the competition programme, ticketing, transport, sports equipment, accreditation, television broadcasting, training sites, and doping.
The IAAF officials were taken to the Olympic Village, which will house 17,300 athletes and Olympic officials. The site has been showcased by Athens organizers as an example of how the state has made up for delays that threatened to derail the 2004 Olympics.
"My general impression is very positive," said IAAF General Secretary Istvan Gyulai following the two-day visit. "I must tell you I am pleased."
"We were given a briefing ... we were very pleased to learn that the travel time from the Olympic village to the Olympic Stadium, according to them, will be 15 minutes.”
The village and main Olympic complex are approximately 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) apart.
The fine-tuning of the athletics timetable was discussed especially concerning the start times of the marathons.
