Wolverhampton Olympique facts for kids
Freddie Lindgren six time winner
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| Category | motorcycle speedway |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Inaugural season | 1966 |
| Folded | 2023 |
The Wolverhampton Olympique was a special yearly competition for individual motorcycle speedway riders. It took place in the Midlands region of the United Kingdom.
Contents
What Was the Wolverhampton Olympique?
The Wolverhampton Olympique was a famous event where individual speedway riders competed against each other. It was held every year. Speedway is a type of motorcycle racing on an oval dirt track. Riders slide their bikes sideways around corners at high speeds!
How the Olympique Started
The first Olympique race happened in October 1966. It was organized by the Newcastle Diamonds speedway club. Their home track was Brough Park.
At that time, the Newcastle Diamonds and the Wolverhampton Wolves clubs had the same owner, a man named Mike Parker. In 1969, Mike Parker sold his part of the Newcastle Diamonds. He moved some of his important things to the Wolverhampton Wolves club. This included the Olympique event itself. He also moved the racing rights for a famous speedway rider named Ole Olsen.
Moving to Different Tracks
When the Wolverhampton speedway track closed in 1980, the Olympique race moved to Birmingham. But when the Wolves track opened again in 1984, Peter Adams brought the event back home. It returned to Monmore Green Stadium in Wolverhampton.
The Final Race
The very last Olympique race was held in 2023. This was because the owners of Monmore Green, a company called Entain, decided to use the stadium only for greyhound racing from 2024. The final race was won by an Australian rider named Zach Cook.
Past Winners of the Olympique
Many great riders have won the Wolverhampton Olympique over the years. Here is a list of the winners:
| Year | Venue | First | Second | Third |
| 1966 | Brough Park |  Barry Briggs |
 Peter Kelly |
Nigel Boocock |
| 1967 | Brough Park |  Anders Michanek |
Ivan Mauger |
Nigel Boocock |
| 1968 | Brough Park | Not staged | ||
| 1969 | Brough Park | Not staged | ||
| 1970 | Monmore Green Stadium |  Ole Olsen |
Ivan Mauger |
Ronnie Moore |
| 1971 | Monmore Green Stadium | Ole Olsen |
Barry Briggs |
Bernt Persson |
| 1972 | Monmore Green Stadium | Ole Olsen |
Terry Betts |
Ivan Mauger |
| 1973 | Monmore Green Stadium | Ole Olsen |
Peter Collins |
Chris Pusey |
| 1974 | Monmore Green Stadium | Ole Olsen |
Peter Collins |
Terry Betts |
| 1975 | Monmore Green Stadium | Ole Olsen |
 Billy Sanders |
Sören Sjösten |
| 1976 | Monmore Green Stadium | Peter Collins |
Ole Olsen |
Chris Morton |
| 1977 | Monmore Green Stadium | Billy Sanders |
Gordon Kennett |
Dave Jessup |
| 1978 | Monmore Green Stadium | Gordon Kennett |
Ole Olsen |
 Ila Teromaa |
| 1979 | Monmore Green Stadium | Phil Crump |
 Bruce Penhall |
Jan Andersson |
| 1980 | Monmore Green Stadium | Les Collins |
Bobby Schwartz |
Tommy Knudsen |
| 1981 | Monmore Green Stadium | Mitch Shirra |
Hans Nielsen |
Dave Jessup |
| 1982 | Monmore Green Stadium | Hans Nielsen |
Alan Grahame |
Tommy Knudsen |
| 1983 | Birchfield Ladbroke Stadium | Not staged | ||
| 1984 | Monmore Green Stadium | Hans Nielsen |
Shawn Moran |
Preben Eriksen |
| 1985 | Monmore Green Stadium | Not staged | ||
| 1986 | Monmore Green Stadium | Not staged | ||
| 1987 | Monmore Green Stadium | Sam Ermolenko |
Hans Nielsen |
Jan O Pedersen |
| 1988 | Monmore Green Stadium | Hans Nielsen |
Sam Ermolenko |
Mike Faria |
| 1989 | Monmore Green Stadium | Jan O Pedersen |
Ronnie Correy |
Hans Nielsen |
| 1990 | Monmore Green Stadium | Ronnie Correy |
Billy Hamill |
John Jørgensen |
| 1991 | Monmore Green Stadium | Greg Hancock |
Ronnie Correy |
Sam Ermolenko |
| 1992 | Monmore Green Stadium | Ronnie Correy |
Sam Ermolenko |
Gary Havelock |
| 1993 | Monmore Green Stadium | Joe Screen |
Sam Ermolenko |
Peter Karlsson |
| 1994 | Monmore Green Stadium | Jason Crump |
Peter Karlsson |
Joe Screen |
| 1995 | Monmore Green Stadium | Greg Hancock |
Peter Karlsson |
Joe Screen |
| 1996 | Monmore Green Stadium | Not staged | ||
| 1997 | Monmore Green Stadium | Mikael Karlsson |
Sam Ermolenko |
Jesper B Jensen |
| 1998 | Monmore Green Stadium | Greg Hancock |
Mark Loram |
Peter Karlsson |
| 1999 | Monmore Green Stadium | Peter Karlsson |
Joe Screen |
Greg Hancock |
| 2000 | Monmore Green Stadium | Peter Karlsson |
Nicki Pedersen |
Jesper B. Jensen |
| 2001 | Monmore Green Stadium | Mikael Karlsson |
Sam Ermolenko |
Jason Crump |
| 2002 | Monmore Green Stadium | Mikael Karlsson |
Peter Karlsson |
Paul Hurry |
| 2003 | Monmore Green Stadium | Mikael Max |
Peter Karlsson |
Leigh Adams |
| 2004 | Monmore Green Stadium | David Howe |
Peter Karlsson |
Scott Nicholls |
| 2005 | Monmore Green Stadium | Freddie Lindgren |
Hans Andersen |
Travis McGowan |
| 2006 | Monmore Green Stadium | Peter Karlsson |
Freddie Lindgren |
 Theo Pijper |
| 2007 | Monmore Green Stadium | Freddie Lindgren |
Scott Nicholls |
Chris Harris |
| 2008 | Monmore Green Stadium | Postponed | ||
| 2009 | Monmore Green Stadium | Freddie Lindgren |
Chris Harris |
Scott Nicholls |
| 2010 | Monmore Green Stadium | Freddie Lindgren |
Chris Harris |
Scott Nicholls |
| 2011 | Monmore Green Stadium | Freddie Lindgren |
Scott Nicholls |
Chris Harris |
| 2012 | Monmore Green Stadium | Scott Nicholls |
Ricky Wells |
Danny King |
| 2013 | Monmore Green Stadium | Postponed | ||
| 2014 | Monmore Green Stadium | Postponed | ||
| 2015 | Monmore Green Stadium | Freddie Lindgren |
Ricky Wells |
Chris Harris |
| 2016 | Monmore Green Stadium | Jacob Thorssell |
Freddie Lindgren |
Chris Harris |
| 2017 | Monmore Green Stadium | Not staged | ||
| 2018 | Monmore Green Stadium | Chris Harris |
Kyle Howarth |
Ricky Wells |
| 2019 | Monmore Green Stadium | Not staged | ||
| 2020 | Monmore Green Stadium | Not staged due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2021 | Monmore Green Stadium | Scott Nicholls |
Nick Morris |
Rory Schlein |
| 2022 | Monmore Green Stadium | Nick Morris |
Tom Brennan |
Luke Becker |
| 2023 | Monmore Green Stadium | Zach Cook |
Rory Schlein |
Tom Brennan |
Top Riders by Wins
This table shows which riders won the most Olympique titles and how many times they finished in the top three:
| Country | Driver | First | Second | Third | Podium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Olsen, Ole | 6 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
|
Lindgren, Freddie | 6 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
|
Karlsson (Max), Mikael | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
|
Karlsson, Peter | 3 | 5 | 2 | 10 |
|
Nielsen, Hans | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
|
Hancock, Greg | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
|
Nicholls, Scott | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
|
Correy, Ronnie | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
|
Ermolenko, Sam | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
|
Harris, Chris | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
|
Collins, Peter | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
|
Morris, Nick | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
|
Briggs, Barry | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
|
Sanders, Billy | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
|
Kennett, Gordon | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
|
Pedersen, Jan O | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
|
Crump, Jason | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
|
Michanek, Anders | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
Crump, Phil | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
Collins, Les | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
Shirra, Mitch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
Howe, David | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
Thorssell, Jacob | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
Cook, Zach | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
