Flack’s walk of fame

By Lilly O’Gorman
THE legacy of Berwick sporting hero Edwin Flack will be recognised when a new footbridge in Melbourne is named in his honour.
The Victorian Government announced the new footbridge from the MCG to AAMI Park is to be named after Flack, dubbed ‘The Lion of Athens’.
Edwin Flack represented Australia in the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, winning gold in the 800 and 1500 metre races. He won a bronze medal in doubles tennis.
He also competed in the singles tennis and the marathon, leading the race when he withdrew through exhaustion.
President of the National Trust Casey-Cardinia branch, Ruth Crofts, said it was a great acknowledgement for one of Berwick’s most important historical figures.
“We were thrilled about it,” Ms Crofts said.
“It’s absolutely marvellous.”
Edwin Flack owned and operated a dairy farm in Berwick and was laid to rest in the Berwick Cemetery.
His strong connection to Berwick is recognised with a bronze statue of the athlete, installed in the centre median of High Street, Berwick. in 1996.
In his book ‘Edwin Flack, The Lion of Athens’ Peter Sweeney wrote Flack was also one of Australia’s biggest accountants, a businessman, and a farmer.
“…if it wasn’t for Edwin Flack, Australia couldn’t boast to being one of just two nations (Greece is the other) who have contested every Olympic Games,” Sweeney wrote.
State Member for South Eastern Metropolitan Region, Inga Peulich, welcomed the announcement honouring Australia’s first Olympian.
Ms Peulich said ‘The Lion of Athens’ Edwin Flack was the perfect namesake for the new footbridge from the MCG to AAMI Park.
“The new Edwin Flack Bridge will connect with the existing Brunton Avenue footbridge to provide an unbroken pedestrian link between the MCG and AAMI Park,” Ms Peulich said.
“By any account he was an incredible man and the story of his performance at the 1896 Athens Olympics has inspired many Australian athletes.
“The new footbridge will help clear crowds from the MCG and AAMI Park concourses after games and make it easier for everyone to get around the precinct.
“The bridge will feature two sets of Olympic rings from the 1956 Melbourne Games, further cementing it to the area’s sporting history.”