On track to new golden age

The original track and field facility, first opened in 1976, was the city’s thank-you to the pentathlon heroine who remains Northern Ireland’s only Olympic gold medal winner in an individual event.

At the official reopening of the newly-refurbished Mary Peters Track Dame Mary herself was there to praise all those involved in making the state-of-the-art track a world-class competition venue.

“This facility is the best in Europe from today because the London track has not opened again and won’t do so for another couple of years,” she said.

“This is a spectacular environment for people to train, whether they are serious athletes or not, and I am so glad that Belfast City Council was so generous in supporting it.

“You won’t always produce Olympic athletes, because there are over 200 countries now taking part and they are investing a lot of money, but if we don’t give them the opportunity then we’ll never know. Let’s encourage them all to take part.”

The £3 million refurbishment has been completed in time for the city hosting the World Police and Fire Games this summer and includes a new eight-lane running track (increased from the previous six), a revamped field events area and a purpose-built spectators’ stand.

The development is the first of many major projects being carried out as part of the city council’s £150 million “physical investment programme” in Belfast.

Speaking at the reopening, Belfast Lord Mayor Gavin Robinson said the people of Northern Ireland were “enthused” by Mary Peters’ gold medal at the 1972 Olympic Games and could see the potential of sporting achievement.

“They wanted to emulate the success of Dame Mary and this site became a focal point of athletics in Northern Ireland,” he said.

“Over the years the track took a fair bit of wear and tear and it wasn’t fit for purpose. When we, as a council, were successful in bringing the World Police and Fire Games to Belfast – and Mary championed that cause as well – we recognised that to host the athletic parts of the World Police and Fire Games in Belfast, we would need to update and upgrade the Mary Peters Track.”

The new running surface is identical to the one laid at the Olympic stadium in London for the 2012 Games.