In June of 1934, as he celebrated the 40^th anniversary of the Olympic Movement, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, then 71, put the spotlight for the success of the Games right where it belonged—on the athlete.  This passage is from ‘Forty Years of Olympism,’ an article he wrote for Le Sport Suisse that year.

“In conclusion, I must pay tribute to the modern athlete, because this is his festival, too, his day of renaissance dominated by the illustrious figure of his ancestor, the ancient athlete. It has now been forty years since the restoration of the Olympic Games was formally proclaimed at the Sorbonne. Their destiny has been fully in keeping with my work and my wishes.”