INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY 7th JOINT - IOA

“…re-establish in our younger generations, the equilibrium
between body and mind so long ruptured … and produce the
spirit and leadership, good sense and character…”
(Coubertin, 1888:248-249)
In Coubertin’s vision, ethical conduct, moral integrity and strong
character became the product of an Arnoldian education and the basis
for his educational view of sport, la pedagogie sportive, as he called it.
From these Anglo-American influences, his conceptualized ideals of
sport were the social and moral elements that later contributed to his
fundamental ideals of Olympic and Sport Education.
The practice of Greek sports with the pursuit of noble goals,
namely, the worship of Olympian Zeus and the cultural unity of the
ancient Greek world inspired Coubertin to the revival of the modern
Olympic Games. In ancient Greece, sport was part of man’s overall
education, which cultivated in a balanced and harmonious way his
intellectual, mental and physical faculties. The classical Greek
believed that the body and mind contributed to the development of
character of man as demonstrated by the athletes who participated at
the ancient Olympic Games. To both the English and Greek, athletics
he ascribed the highest ideals:
“…Like the athletics of antiquity, modern athletics is … an
impassioned soaring which is capable of going from play to
heroism (Coubertin, 1967: 118-119). [Sport he concluded] was
a factory of life-force.”
(Coubertin, 1967:1)
From the early days of Olympics, Coubertin conceptualized the
ideal of balance that is the Olympic athlete should be an individual of
vitality and versatility in body, mind and character. More importantly,
the ancient Olympic which was held once in every four years were
salient factors towards making truces and keeping peace among the
city states of Greece during the period of the Olympics. This
convinced Coubertin that the Olympic Games could cultivate
international understanding and peace through sports festivals among
youths from all nations. Even though Coubertin’s sport objectives
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