| | |
|
The Trifolium
The Great Club Olympic Stadium of Athens |
The athletics department of Panathinaikos A.O. was founded in 1919 by the football players of the team. Amongst its first athletes were Giorgos Kalafatis, Apostolos Nikolaidis, Loukas Panourgias and Michalis Papazoglou. It is the second oldest department of the club operating continuously since its foundation, only behind the football department.
In the 1928 Summer Olympics the athlete of the team, Antonis Kariofilis, became the first Greek to open the parade of nations.
After World War II, a strong team was created with Giannis Lambrou, Rigas Efstathiadis, Antonis Tritsis and others. In the 1960s the great pole vaulter Christos Papanikolaou also joined the team.
Through the next decades Panathinaikos won many Championships, in both men and women, becoming one of the strongest teams in the country. The men's team were Greek champions for 20 seasons in a row from 1955 to 1974, a record for Greek athletics until present day.
(Text) CC BY-SA
