The London Olympians are an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team based in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, who compete in Division 1, the 2nd tier of British American Football. Formed in 1983 and originally from

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

the team were known as the Streatham Olympians until 1988 when they were renamed London Olympians, by the then owner Peter Erotokritos. In 1995 the club changed its name once more to the London O's before becoming the Olympians again in 2009. The Olympians are the most successful British American Football team and are Twelve-time

BritBowl The Britbowl is the championship game of the British American Football National League, and formerly the British American Football League (BAFL) in the United Kingdom. It is the most prestigious of the league's three bowl games that constitute ...

champions, winning all twelve over a dominant 14-year period from 1992 until 2006. They are also eighteen-time Divisional champions and have won three major European competitions, the

Eurobowl The Eurobowl, first played in 1986, was the championship final game of a tournament style playoff to determine the champion of all of the American football leagues in Europe. The tournament featured the top or champion clubs from each country ...

in 1993 and 1994 and the EFAF Cup in 1999. In 2016, The Olympians were relegated from the Premier Division but bounced back the following year by winning the SFC 1 South and earning promotion despite losing the Division 1 Bowl to the

Manchester Titans The Manchester Titans are an American football team based in Manchester, England, that competes in the BAFA National Leagues Premier Division North, the highest level of British American football. The team operate from the National Speedway Stad ...

. The Olympians hold the record for the longest winning streak in senior kitted British American Football by winning every game they played in from 1998 until 2004.

History

The Olympians' first home was on Streatham Common and was founded by Peter Erotokritos, his business partner John Carney who owned the nearby Olympians Gym. Between 1995 and 2005 the Olympians were known as the London O's and regularly won the

Championship. The name change was a result of the previous owner retaining the rights to the Olympian name when he decided to withdraw from American football. In 2009 the team returned to the BAFA league after a year in hiatus, playing in Division 2 East. They were promoted from Division 2 at the end of the 2010 season, defeating the Manchester Titans in the Division 2 Bowl game 35–13. They played and won all 15 of their games in 2010, scoring 553 and conceding just 60 points. In 2012, the Olympians returned to the Premier division. The same year they left Crystal Palace for Catford and then for Beckenham the following season. In 2015, they played home games on

Peckham Rye Peckham Rye is an open space and road in the London Borough of Southwark, London, England. The roughly triangular open space lies to the south of Peckham and consists of two contiguous areas, Peckham Rye Common to the north and Peckham Rye Park t ...

before moving north of the Thames for the first time in 2016, playing at East London Rugby Club in West Ham. In 2016 season the Olympians went 0–10 and got relegated down to division for the 2017 season, In 2017 the Olympians went 6–3–1 to win the Division 1 South east conference and went on to beat Solent Thrashers 55–29 in the playoffs. Then beating the Kent Exiles 41–17 in the semi-finals and being promoted back to the premiership 1 year removed. But the Olympians came up short in the Finals against Manchester Titans as they lost 46–23.

Stadium

Over the years they have played at the Crystal Palace National Sport Centre,

Herne Hill velodrome The Herne Hill Velodrome is an outdoor velodrome in Herne Hill, in south London. It is one of the oldest cycling tracks in the world, having been built in 1891. It hosted the track cycling events in the 1948 Summer Olympics and was briefly the h ...

, Southwark Park as well as in Beckenham, Catford, Peckham, West Ham and now at Eltham Well Hall. The team's training facility is in

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe ( ) is a district of South London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, with the Isle of Dogs to the ea ...

Honours

Champions: 1993, 1994
EFAF Cup Champions: 1999
British Champions: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006
BAFACL Division II South Champions: 2010 BAFACL Division II Play-Off Champions: 2010

References

External links

Official site
{{BAFL seasons, British American Football League seasons

London Olympians The London Olympians are an American football team based in Greenwich, London, England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it ...

American football teams in England American football teams in London Sport in the London Borough of Bromley Sport in the London Borough of Croydon Sport in the London Borough of Southwark 1984 establishments in England American football teams established in 1984