Olympic Games owes revival to young French educator

(Last of two parts)

The amateur sports world owes the revival of the Olympic Games to a Frenchman–Pierre de Coubertin. He conceived the idea of reviving the Games when he was 24.

For years, de Coubertin (born in Paris on Jan. 1, 1863), who was not even a sportsman and felt more at home with literature, education, and sociology, nurtured this grand dream, preparing public opinion to support his plan not only in France but also in England and the United States.

His mission, though, was easier said than done. Nevertheless, a headway came in June 1894 during a conference on international sports in Paris attended by 79 delegates representing 49 organizations from nine countries.

"A unanimous vote in favor of revival was rendered at the end of the Congress chiefly to please me," wrote de Coubertin, who later served as the second president of the International Olympic Committee from 1896 to 1925.

As agreed upon, the Games should be held in Paris in 1900. However, the venue was later changed to Athens, the capital of Greece which originated the Olympic Games. The date also was changed–it was advanced to April 1896.

Initially, Athens refused to stage the Olympic Games. Eventually, with the kinks ironed out, the Games unfolded in the first week of April 1896, with no less than the king of Greece opening it.

Thus began the modern version of the Olympic Games.

Following are some interesting facts about the modern Games, as gleaned from the Encyclopedia Britannica:

• The Olympic motto is Citius-Altius-Fortius (Faster-Higher-Stronger).

• The Olympic flag presented by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1914 is the prototype: it has a white background and in the center there are five interlaced rings–blue, yellow, black, green, and red–which represent the five continents joined together in the Olympic Movement.

• The honor of holding the Games is entrusted to a city and not to a country. Application to hold the Games is made by the chief authority of the city, with the support of the national government.

• The Olympic Village, which houses the competitors and team officials, was first introduced in Los Angeles (USA) in 1932.

• In the opening ceremonies, the Greek team is always the first to enter the stadium. The nations follow in alphabetical order as determined by the language of the organizing country.

• The Olympic flame is carried into the stadium by the last of the runners who have brought it from Olympia, Greece. The runner circles the track, mounts the steps, and lights the Olympic fire that burns night and day during the Games.

• Medals are presented during the Games at the various venues and as soon as possible after the conclusion of the event.

• The closing ceremonies take place after the final event, which is usually the equestrian Prix des Nations. The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) calls the youth of the world to assemble in four years to celebrate the Games of the next Olympiad. A fanfare is sounded, the Olympic fire is extinguished, and to the strains of the Olympic anthem the Olympic flag is lowered and the Games are over.

Over the decades, the modern Games had had their ups and downs.

World War I, for instance, shut off the sixth Olympic Games in 1916. World War II also prevented the 12th and 13th Games from being held in 1940 and 1944, respectively.

The "bloodiest" in post World War II period were the 20th Games held in Munich, Germany, in 1972, which this writer had the opportunity to partially cover.

During the Games, Palestinian commandos invaded the Olympic Village and killed two and seized nine Israeli athletes as hostages for the release of 200 Arab prisoners in Israel. All the nine Israeli hostages, five of the terrorists, and a West German policeman were killed when police rescue operations failed.

At the Montreal (Canada) Games, the Canadian government denied visas to Taiwanese athletes because they refused to forego the title of Republic of China, under which the National Olympic Committee was admitted to the IOC.

Then there were the boycotts in the Los Angeles and Moscow Games.

These and similar incidents are unfortunate considering that the Games are supposed to be contests between individuals and not between countries. And, in theory, no discrimination is allowed against any country or person on grounds of race, political affiliation, or religion.

Notwithstanding the traumatic and unpleasant events that have marred the Olympic Games, their patrons and prime movers are optimistic that the Olympics will continue far into the future.

As someone has once said, the Games are but among the few saving graces of this highly politically charged world.

Did you know, for instance, that in the early years of the Olympic Games armies in mortal combat stopped fighting just so the soldiers could watch the sporting spectacle?