THE OLYMPIC
MOVEMENT

Winning an Olympic medal is a dream shared by athletes around the world. Many athletes will spend years in training to qualify for a single, shining moment of glory at the Games. Some athletes go to the Olympics, knowing that a medal is within their reach. Other athletes go, knowing they have little chancing of medaling, but the experience will be a golden investment in their sports future.

However, all athletes go to the Games in the spirit of peace and respect for all competitors, regardless of race, colour or creed. From their beginning, 3,000 years ago in Greece, the Olympic Games have set the standard for athleticism, characterized by equal opportunities, fair play and good sportsmanship. In the 21st centure, the Olympic Movement is the guardian of ethnics, integrity and fair play in sports. For more information on the Olympic Movement, please click here. To download a copy of the Olympic Charter, click here.

“All sports for all people,” said Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1919. Recognized as the founder of the modern Olympic Games, de Coubertin believed that sports could bring the peoples of the world together. De Coubertin’s beliefs are engrained in the Olympic Charter and are honoured by all sports associations and organizations that recognize the authority of the International Olympic Committee.

“The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.”

You are 10 feet tall as Olympians. You are supposed to raise your sights for higher goals, set new targets and work hard to make your people proud of you.”
“Flying Fish”, Neo Chwee Kok, who took part in the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki.

IOC

The International Olympic Committee, formed in Paris in 1894, is the international non-governmental organization that conducts, promotes and regulates the modern Olympic Games. It is located in Lausanne, Switzerland north of Geneva. As the supreme authority of the Olympic Movement, it owns all rights concerning the Olympic Games, and looks after their organization.

Games

The original Olympic Games date back to 776 BC. But the modern version was revived in 1894 at the initiative of French educator Pierre de Coubertin and held for the first time in 1896 in Athens, Greece, the birthplace of the original Olympic Games.

Flag With a solid white background, the Olympic flag features five interlinked rings. Three rings (in blue, black and red) sit in the top row with another two (in yellow and green) below. The interlinking rings symbolise the five continents of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and America.

Mottor

Citius, Altius, Fortius, Adopted by de Coubertin and translated from Latin, it means“swifter, higher, stronger”

Creed

“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 to the triumph but the struggle.”

Oath

“In the name of all 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 sports and the honour of our teams”

Flame

The flame, first used at the modern Olympics in Amsterdam in 1928, represents the energy and zeal of top-notch athletes and those who love life.