INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY 7th JOINT - IOA

the organization of the first modern Games, and the subject of a
student presentation.
• Olympism and Olympic symbols
The basic tenants of the Olympic philosophy—Olympism—have
been gleaned from Coubertin’s considerable writings: 20 books, 30
booklets, and 1300 articles. The ideological currents identified above
played an important role in the philosophy that Coubertin evolved. De
Coubertin’s Olympism is not a well-defined and fixed philosophical
theory. It is a syncretism drawing on ancient Greek philosophy,
Christianity and democratic cosmopolitanism. It must be interpreted in
the context of its time. Coubertin saw Olympism as a civilian religion
and an educational philosophy of life celebrated through a worldwide
athletic and artistic festival. According to Hans Lenk, the values of
Olympism include: religious commitment, body-mind harmony,
elitism and the equality of chances, sportsmanship, peace,
internationalism and patriotism, the unity of different sports,
amateurism, and the synthesis of modern and ancient elements.
With the increasing importance of the media and the growing
commercialisation of the Olympic Games, the values of Olympism
have come under attack in recent years. Nevertheless, in 1991, the
IOC inserted Olympism into the Fundamental Principles of the
Olympic Charter. The symbols and rituals of the Olympic Movement
continue to resonate. These values can be seen in the images
incorporated into Olympic medals as well as in the Olympic torch
relay, a practice begun by Carl Diem for the 1936 Berlin Games. But
the most enduring symbol is the Olympic rings. The five rings
represent the world’s five continents (which excludes Antarctica and
considers the Americas as a single continent) and their six colours
(blue, black, red, yellow, green, and the background white)
incorporate the colours used in all the flags of the world at the time of
the rings’ creation.
• Subsequent IOC Presidents (after Coubertin)
Neither of the IOC presidents who directly succeeded Coubertin
were as concerned with philosophy or pedagogy as the Games’
founder was. Amateurism was the central issue of the presidency of
Baillet-Latour (1925-42) while Sigfried Edström (1942-52) focused
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