This is similar to the quote we posted on April 8^th, which again asserted that the modern Olympic Games were established for the ‘exaltation’ of the individual athlete. That quote came from an article Baron Pierre de Coubertin wrote in 1931—and today’s quote is from a speech he made in Prague at the opening of the Olympic Congress in 1925, six years earlier. The continuity shows that the Baron’s attitude had not changed—he was still in favor of individual sports versus team sports.  Today, of course, we have a highly popular mix of individual and team sport and the Olympic Games serve both equally well in terms of production, presentation and global reach.  If the Baron were around today, he would more than likely embrace the balance, but there’s no doubt he held a firm position on the superiority of individual events.

“The Games were established for the glorification of the individual champion, whose exploits are needed to maintain general eagerness and ambition. The circumstances are poorly suited to including too many team sports, because in general the need has been recognized to limit the length of the Games, and thus also to limit the expenses occasioned by the Games.”