[Mahler]

Mahler's Monday Morning Motivator # 27

Good morning, guys.

With the Olympic Games in full swing, I thought it appropriate to do a piece on the man who made it all possible. Baron Pierre de Coubertin is a remarkable man for his time. His vision allowed him to look into a future where sport and competition were a natural part of everyday life. He longed to recognize those who pushed themselves to excell and, I think you will all agree, he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.
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Baron Pierre de Coubertin (January 1, 1863-September 2, 1937), born as Pierre de Frédy, was a French pedagogue and historian, but is best known as the founder of the modern Olympic Games.
Born in Paris into an aristocratic family, De Coubertin was inspired by his visits to British and American colleges and universities, and set out to improve education. Part of this improvement should be sports education, which he thought to be an important part of the personal development of young people.

He conceived of an international competition to promote athletics. A growing international interest in the ancient Olympics, fed by recent archaeological finds at Olympia, De Coubertin devised a plan to revive the Olympic Games.
To publicize these plans, he organised an international congress on June 23, 1894 at the Sorbonne in Paris. There he proposed to reinstate the ancient Olympic Games. The congress led to the establishing of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), of which De Coubertin became the general secretary. It was also decided that the first modern Olympics would take place in Athens, Greece and that they would be held every four years These Games proved a success, and De Coubertin took over the IOC presidency when Demetrius Vikelas stepped down after the Olympics in his own country.

Despite the initial success, the Olympic Movement faced hard times, as the 1900 (in De Coubertin's own Paris) and 1904 Games were both swallowed by international fairs, and received little attention.

This changed for the better after the 1906 Summer Olympics, and the Olympic Games grew to become the most important sports event. De Coubertin stepped down from his IOC presidency after the 1924 Olympics in Paris, which proved much more successful than the first attempt in that city in 1900. He was succeeded as president by Belgian Henri de Baillet-Latour.

De Coubertin remained Honorary President of the IOC until he died in 1937 in Geneva, Switzerland. He was buried in Lausanne (the seat of the IOC), although his heart was buried separately in a monument near the ruins of ancient Olympia.

Quotes from his speeches and writings:

"The Olympic Movement gives the world an ideal which reckons with the reality of life, and includes a possibility to guide this reality toward the great Olympic Idea."

"Holding an Olympic Games means evoking history."

"The important thing in life is not to triumph but to compete."

"In the Olympic Oath, I ask for only one thing: sporting loyalty."

"Olympism... exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, mind and will."

"The Olympic Games are the quadrennial celebration of the springtime of humanity."

"The Games were created for the glorification of the individual champion."

"The Olympic Games are for the world and all nations must be admitted to them."

"The Olympic Spirit is neither the property of one race nor of one age."

"Olympism is a doctrine of the fraternity between the body and the soul."

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well."

"The strength of Olympism comes to it from that which is simply human, hence worldwide is its essence."

"The important thing in life is not victory but combat; it is not to have vanquished but to have fought well."

"The Olympic Movement gives the world an ideal which reckons with the reality of life, and includes a possibility to guide this reality toward the great Olympic Idea."

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To all of you who are champions in your own right, go for the gold.
Have a great week.

In Fitness & Friendship,
Mahler