The idea of giving back permeates sport around the world today.  Check the profile or bio of almost any high visibility athlete and it seems there’s always a reference to giving back—to the community they came from or the sport that empowered them to succeed.  The fact that Baron Pierre de Coubertin expressed this idea in 1919, referring to his work of nearly thirty years before, reveals once again what a contemporary thinker he really was on several fronts.  The use of the word ‘sustainable’ also suggests an aspect of his prophetic vision. This quote is from his “Olympic Letter XIII: The Periodicity of the Olympic Games,” which appeared in the Olympic Review that year.

“When reviving the Olympics, I did not look near myself, but far into the distance. I wanted to give back to today’s world, in a sustainable way, an ancient institution, the principles of which were becoming relevant again.”