At the level of Olympic sport, the disciplines of competition demand nothing less than self-mastery.  Baron Pierre de Coubertin believed that the individual athlete had to achieve a level of mastery over himself, his body, the circumstances of the moment and life itself.  That’s the point he was making in this quote from a radio broadcast he delivered from Geneva on August 4, 1935.  His text of his message on “The Philosophical Foundation of Modern Olympism” was printed in Le Sport Suisse three days later, on August 7. This was a significant moment in the life of the 72-year old Baron, and we will have more about the importance of this broadcast in upcoming posts.