The Olympic Spirit and Pierre de Coubertin

Abstract

This article seeks to offer an overview of the Olympic spirit by saying that it is linked to the values and ideals of Olympism. The spiritual dimension of the Games was stressed from the beginning by Pierre de Coubertin himself and the Olympic values, which constitute the foundations of sports and Olympic education, were based on it. Whichever way to look at it, the underlying trend is clear; competition is one of the most complex characteristics of the human condition: On the one hand you can descend into the domains of destruction, suffering and bad sportsmanship. On the other hand, competition can trigger resilience, development, and progress. It is not just about the thrill to succeed, but rather the spirit and feeling of pride that all your hard work and sacrifice was worth it. It must express love for competitive truth, which would always be fair, noble, and loyal. For this reason, the heart of competition is called the Olympic Spirit.