The relevance of Coubertin's message of peace through sport is reverberating through the headlines today. Fifteen minutes ago, the extraordinary news that North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, is willing to talk to the U.S. about giving up his nuclear weapons came over the radio. The news came from the South Korean delegation in Pyongyang for peace talks. Lest anyone forget, those talks were initiated out of the Olympic détente produced through North Korea's participation in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games last month just over the border in South Korea. Right now, Coubertin must be doing ski-jumping aerials in the afterlife. While today's quote is about peace between sports at the Games, it clearly alludes to the ethic of peace between nations at the heart of the Olympic Movement. This is from an article Coubertin wrote for the Olympic Review in 1903, entitled The Olympic Organization.

"In truth, the entire work of the Olympics is based on concord. From the smallest to the greatest, working on its behalf means erasing the memories of old battles, or preventing new ones from cropping up. All forms of exercise are accepted in the Games. None must be privileged to the detriment of the others. If all those who take part in the Olympic organization are deeply imbued with the idea that, all in all, concord is the best way to reach the goal, their efforts will meet with swift success."