Pierre de Coubertin

“Sport must be the heritage of all men and of all social classes.”

“In no way can sport be considered a luxury object.”

“Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of a good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.”

“Holding an Olympic Games means evoking history.”

“Swifter, higher, stronger.”

“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 Olympic Games are the quadrennial celebration of the springtime of humanity.”

“For me sport was a religion... with religious sentiment.”

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

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

“A country can truly call itself sporting when the majority of its people feel a personal need for sport.”

“In our view the Olympic idea involves a strong physical culture supplemented on the one hand by mobility, what is so aptly called 'fair play', and on the other hand by aesthetics, that is the cultivation of what is beautiful and graceful.”

“The Olympic Games were created for the exhaltation of the individual athlete.”

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

“If he is knocked out of the competition, he encourages his brothers with his words and presence.”

“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.”

“The Games were created for the glorification of the individual champion.”

“All sports for all people.”

“Success comprises in itself the seeds of its own decline and sport is not spared by this law.”

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