About a thousand residents of the Municipality of Casey in Melbourne disagree with the erection of the statue in the suburb of Berwick of Spyros Louis, the Greek who won the inaugural marathon at the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens.

They also signed a statement complaining that he has nothing to do with Australia or their neighborhood and sent it to City Hall.

The Municipal Council remained uncompromising and the Mayor of the City of Casey Mick Morland stated that the statue next to the statue of another legend of that era, the first Australian Olympic champion Edwin Flack, who ran against Louis at the first Modern Games.

The unveiling ceremony is expected to take place before Christmas. The project was funded by the State Government of Victoria, because it “symbolizes the friendship between Greece and Australia”.

The initiative belongs to the Greek Organization of Support of the Olympic Spirit and Idea, whose head is Aristides Panagakis, who said that the statue will be represented with its classic “foustanela”.

Note that the statue of Spyros Louis is also erected in Sydney. (Photo)