A Greek pole vault champion has filed a 538,000-euro lawsuit against the management of the state-owned Athens Olympic Stadium (OAKA) alleging that a serious injury he suffered more than a month ago at the facility was due to a construction deficiency at the site.
According to reports, Konstantinos Filippidis severely injured his knee after stumbling in OAKA’s training zone in late June 2017.
The lawsuit refers to a “pothole” in a warm-up and training zone adjacent to the actual tartan track.
He subsequently underwent an operation to repair a meniscus tear. The injury, operation, recuperation and retraining period needed, he states in the lawsuit, will mean that he misses several international athletic meets. He also claims damages for the expenses incurred during the training period prior to his mishap at the OAKA stadium complex.
The venue was the site for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, as well as where most track and field events were held.
