Question:1.What is the Olympic Motto?

              2.Waht is The Olympic Oath?

（The first Olympic Games）

Background information on the Olympic Games

The Olympic Anthem

The Olympic anthem was written by the Greek national poet Costis Palamas and composed by Greek musician Splros Samaras. It was first sung at the 1896 Games. The IOC adopted it as the official Olympic anthem to crown Olympic ceremonies at the 1958 IOC Session in Tokyo.

The Olympic Motto

The Olympic motto “swifter, higher, stronger” comes from three Latin words” citus, altius, fortius”, which actually mean ”faster, higher, braver”. The French educator, Baron Rerre de Coubertin, who revived the ancient Olympic Games and in 1896 led the first modern 01ympic Games in Athens, borrowed the phrase from a Dominican priest Henri Dinon. Mr.Dinon introduced these words while presenting athletic prizes at a college in 1891.But how did these words become the motto of the Olympic Games? It was Michel Breal who introduced this phrase at the closing dinner of the congress for the reestablishment of the modern Olympic Games on June 23,1894.Later, the International Olympic Committee formally adopted this phrase as the official motto of the Games.

The Olympic Creed

The Olympic creed was also introduced at the 1896 Games. As stated by Pierre de Coubertin, the creed is as follows:”The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”

The Olympic Oath

“In the name of all the competitors, I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams.”

At the opening Ceremony of each Games, one athlete from the host country takes Olympic oath on behalf of all competing athletes. This particular gesture of sportsmanship was introduced at the 1920 Games in Antwerp, Belgium. A coach or team official takes a similar oath at each Opening Ceremony.

The Torch Relay

During the 1896 Games in Athens, young inspired sportsmen had organised the first torch relays. However, the tradition of the Olympic torch officially began at the Berlin Games in 1936. As in ancient times, the torch is lit by the sun in Ancient Olympia, then passed from runner to runner in a relay to the host city, where it is used to light the Olympic Stadium’s flame during the Games’ Opening Ceremony. The flame then burns until it is extinguished at the Closing Ceremony.