In the spirit of the sport

Goodwill, friendship, and competition ... this is what I stand for.

The one event that brings people of the world together in a spirit of fun and competitiveness: the Olympics. This time it’s being held in Tokyo, after being postponed for a year due to COVID-19. My story begins in 776 BCE, more than 2700 years ago, in Olympia, Greece. The village was named after Mount Olympia, the home of the Greek Gods and Goddesses. Every four years, athletes from the different city-states participated in sports as varied as fencing, chariot-racing, and other field events. It is believed that my last appearance as a sporting event of the ancient world was held around 396 CE. The Olympic Games represents goodwill, friendship, and competition among the Greek city states. This spirit would take another 1500 years — and one man’s vision, Baron Pierre de Courbetin — to be reborn. Courbetin founded the International Olympic Committee and made possible my revival in the modern era with the Olympics in Athens in 1896!