Time Line

Melbourne's Olympic Pool (now named the Westpac Centre) was the first fully indoor Olympic swimming facility. The venue—which was constructed using the most modern technology at the time—housed swimming, diving and water polo.

ROME: 1960

Electronic scoreboards were first used at the Rome Games in 1960. Both the Olympic stadium (Palazzo dello Sport) and the main indoor arena (Palazzetto dello Sport) used the screens to inform the crowd of scores and standings.

MEXICO CITY: 1968

A track with an artificial surface was used for the first time at the Olympics in the Estadio Olímpico Universitario. The all-weather synthetic material—Tartan—created a smoother and thus faster running surface than the traditional cinders.