A statue of Greek Olympic great Spiridon Louis will soon join fellow Olympian Edwin Flack in High Street, Berwick in Victoria.
Gembrook state Liberal MP Brad Battin said it was only fitting Louis’s statue be placed near the Flack bronze, erected in 1996 as part of Olympic centenary celebrations.
“Spiridon Louis won the first modern Olympic marathon in his home town of Athens, taking the lead from our own Edwin Flack, who had already won both the 800m and 1500m track events,” Mr Battin said. “Berwick will now be home to two Olympic greats. Both of these men were determined to achieve their best and each went on to inspire others in their respective countries.”
The statue will be paid for with a State Government grant of $25,000 and it will symbolise the friendship between Greece and Melbourne. Australian Hellenic Organisation in Support of the Olympic Spirit and Ideal president Aristos Panagakis said to the Leader newspaper that the statue would depict Louis in traditional Greek costume as worn in the 1896 marathon.
