Pierre de Coubertin

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 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.

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

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

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

Racial distinctions should not play a role in sport.

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

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