Pierre De Coubertin Quotes

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.

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

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

Olympism is not a system - it is a state of mind. This state of mind has emerged from a double cult: that of effort and that of Eurythmy - a taste of excess and a taste of measure combined.

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

The Olympic flag [] has a white background, with five interlaced rings in the centre: blue, yellow, black, green and red []. This design is symbolic; it represents the five continents of the world, united by Olympism, while the six colours are those that appear on all the national flags of the world at the present time.

The important thing is that all stages from adolescent to mature man, work is done to spread the sporting spirit.

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.

The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part; the important thing in Life is not triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well. To spread these principles is to build up a strong and more valiant and, above all, more scrupulous and more generous humanity.

The day when a sportsman stops thinking above all else of the happiness in his own effort and the intoxication of the power and physical balance he derives from it, the day when he lets considerations of vanity or interest take over, on this day his ideal will die.

All sports must be treated on the basis of equality.

The six colours, including the white background, represent the colours of all the world's flags ... this is a true international emblem.

A better world could be brought about only by better individuals.

In the name of all competitors, I promise that we will take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by all the rules which govern them in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honour of our teams.

Sport is the habitual and voluntary cultivation of intensive physical effort.

The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well.

For each individual, sport is a possible source for inner improvement.

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.

In no way can sport be considered a luxury object.

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

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

The Olympic Games are not just ordinary world championships but a quadrennial festival of universal youth ... celebrated by each succeeding generation as it arrives on the threshold of adulthood.

Sport is part of every man and woman's heritage and its absence can never be compensated for.

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

The heart of our problem is the selfishness in our heart.

The human spirit soars with hope when lifted by an encouraging word.

The important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle.

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

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

Winning medals wasn't the point of the Olympics. It's the participating that counts.