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Sports and Leisure
 In the past two decades sports in Greece went through a major revival with a
large number of modern sports facilities constructed in and around the
capital.
Nevertheless, the city's sports
infrastructure has seen great improvements as a result of the 2004 Olympic
Games that were hosted in Athens. In addition to the existing plethora of
sports facilities, one big sports complex was built for the Olympics 2004,
where sports like judo and fencing were hosted. It is located on the site of
a former horse racetrack at Faliron Bay and its post-Olympic use is that of
a state-of-the-art conference centre.
The coastal Aghios Kosmas
National Youth Athletic Centre, a 78-hectare area that superbly hosted the
2004 Olympics sailing event, has undergone extensive improvements with
upgrades including an expansion of the centres housing up to 204 beds.
 The nearly 20-year-old Athens
Olympic Sports complex in the northern Athens suburb of Maroussi, including
a 75000-seat Olympic Stadium, has also been upgraded. It hosted the
swimming, track and field 2004 Olympic competitions while the complex's
18000-seat stadium hosted the Olympic basketball finals and its velodrom was
the venue of the Olympic cycling events.
Since the late 80's Greek
athletes have been distinguished in many sports, from soccer, basketball,
track and field to weight lifting and sailing.
For golf aficionados there is an
18-hole golf course at the affluent seaside suburb of Glyfada. The endless
list of available sporting and leisure activities includes tennis, gliding,
horse-riding, bird-watching, sailing, skin-diving, water-skiing, hiking,
bowling. |
