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How did the ancient Greek stade give rise to the word stadium?

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A woman in a white pleated dress lights the Olympic torch from a large flame in a gold cauldron, with a crowd seated in the background at Panathenaic Stadium in Athens. — Olympic Games An actress playing the role of an Athenian high priestess lights the Olympic flame in Athens, October 31, 2017. The torch was later carried to Pyeongchang, South Korea, for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

The word "stadium" is derived from the ancient Greek term stadion. Its origin is rooted in the early Olympic Games, which began in 776 BCE with a single footrace that covered one length of the track at Olympia.12

This race was called the stade and measured approximately 192 meters (210 yards). Over time, the term stade came to refer not only to the race itself but also to the track on which the competition was held. This association between the race distance and the physical course eventually gave rise to the modern English word "stadium," which describes a structure designed to accommodate spectators for sporting events.21