Pierre De Coubertin: 5 Things To Know About The Father Of The Modern Olympic Games

He went down in history as the founder of the modern Olympic Games. And yet, the life and writings of Baron Pierre de Coubertin are not without their dark side. Despite his reformist and visionary spirit, he was also a man of his time, making statements that today seem racist, sexist, and colonialist. Here are 5 things to know about this historically paradoxical figure.

1- He introduced sports into French schools.

Pierre de Coubertin (1863-1937) is best known as the man who revived the Olympic Games at the dawn of the 20th century. But before becoming the founder of modern Olympism, this Frenchman influenced by Anglo-Saxon culture initiated another novelty: the introduction of sports in schools in France.

Born into an aristocratic and monarchist family, he was the first in his lineage to become a republican and to advocate for the idea of sports for all. Starting in 1883, he made several trips to England where he practiced sports such as rowing, horseback riding, boxing, and fencing.

By observing the functioning of British schools, he became convinced that reforming the French educational system must involve physical activity. Upon returning to France from 1897 onwards, at only 24 years old, he campaigned for physical exercises in schools. Although often overlooked today, school sports are one of the legacies of the famous baron.

2- He nurtured an early dream of Olympism.

Pierre de Coubertin was only 1.62 meters tall, but he had big ideas and great ambitions. Starting in 1889, the man nicknamed "the little man with the big mustache" secretly nurtured an Olympic dream.

He believed that restoring an international event like the Olympic Games would make sports more popular. However, he faced indifference from the French public and hostility from England, upset at being outpaced in the sports arena...

He had to struggle for five years before succeeding in getting the four basic principles of the modern Olympic Games adopted, in the grand amphitheater of the Sorbonne and in front of 2,000 people, on October 23, 1894. This date has gone down in history as the day of the rebirth of the Olympic Games.

3- He laid the foundations for the modern Olympic Games.

It was Pierre de Coubertin who laid the foundations of the Olympic Games as we know them today.

In 1894, he adopted four major principles that have never been challenged since:
• the organization of the Olympics every four years.
• the selection of a different host city for each Olympiad.
• the establishment of an international committee.
• the introduction of modern sports like football and cycling to the Olympic Games, which did not exist in antiquity.

It is also to Baron de Coubertin that we owe the creation of the Olympic rings. He conceived this Olympic symbol nearly twenty years later, in 1913. Regarding their significance, he wrote: "These five rings represent the five parts of the world now won over to Olympism. [...] Moreover, the six colors thus combined reproduce those of all nations without exception."

4- His writings paint the portrait of a complex personality.

If the name and spirit of Pierre de Coubertin are often mentioned during the Olympic Games, this historical figure is also very controversial. When examining his writings, depending on the phrases one retains, one can have the image of a visionary humanist or that of a racist, sexist, and colonialist man.

From his numerous writings and statements, some have drawn misogynistic phrases such as: "A female Olympiad would be impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic, and incorrect." Despite his reluctance and prudishness, as early as 1900, 22 women participated in the Olympic Games. Coubertin did not completely oppose their participation, as the number of female athletes in the Olympics increased sixfold during his presidency of the IOC, from 22 to 135 women at the 1924 Olympic Games.

Today, one can only be shocked by certain phrases from the founder of modern Olympism. For example, he wrote: "The races are of different value and to the white race, of superior essence, all others must make allegiance." However, it would be unfair to reduce his convictions to this single phrase, as his point of view later evolved.

In 1925, during the Prague Olympic Congress, he declared about the Olympic Games: "All peoples must be admitted without discussion, just as all sports must be treated on an equal footing, regardless of the fluctuations or whims of opinion."

5- He will enter the Grévin Museum in June 2024.

In this Olympic year, several initiatives celebrate the man who revived the Olympic Games in Athens on their homeland in 1896.

The Grévin Museum, which already includes great athletes and Olympic champions such as Martin Fourcade and Teddy Riner in its collections, will welcome the wax statue of Pierre de Coubertin starting June 19, 2024.

The father of modern Olympism will be represented at the age of 31. The creation of this statue required six months of work. This lifelike piece was a true challenge for sculptor Claus Velte because he had only one photo to bring the character to life.