Integrin

Biography

Born in Paris in an aristocratic family. His/her parents are Charles Louis de Frédy and Marie-Marcelle Gigault de Crisenoy, heiress of the castle of Mirville in Normandy where Pierre passes his childhood. It draws aside the careers soldier and policy. “Fanatic Colonialist” - according to his own words - it grants a great place to the patriotic honor and nationalism. Rocked the memories of the after-defeat of 1870, it engages for a revival of the French nation.

Inspired by its own education and its visits in British universities and American, it decides to improve the education which it considers obsolete and without imagination. According to him, the Sport occupies a fundamental place in the development of the individual. Coubertin thus sticks to increase by it the place in the education of youth. He prefers the value of the educational plays to the militarized German athletics or the Swedish gymnastics. Practitioner boxing and horsemanship like the oar or the fencing, it preaches the sporting and physical practice like a means of recovery of the spirit.

To promote the Athletics, its idea is then to create a great international competition which would see to be opposed the best athletes of the civilized world. Inspired by the growing interest which the ancient Olympic ideal in the light of the archaeological discoveries causes of Olympie, it decides to recreate the Olympic Games. He announces his project on November 25th, 1892 (year when it referee the first finale of the Championnat of France of Rugby between two Parisian clubs) in the amphitheater of the Sorbonne and creates the International Olympic committee on June 23rd, 1894, in Paris at the time of the first congress Olympic. In 1896, the first renovated Olympic Games take place in Athens symbolically, and the four-year frequency is established.

Pierre de Coubertin takes part in various associations aiming at promoting the sport, and writes several teaching works. In spite of the increasing success of the first modern Olympiads, it does not cease a tempêter against the ethnic laxism of the plays and especially against the possible participation of the women in the Olympiads. For him, it is about a major affront to the size and the original purity of this competition. Nevertheless, the growing pressure of the feminist movements during the years 1920 ends up cutting down the payments misogynists of the International Olympic committee so that in 1928, with the plays of Amsterdam, the women 290 make their triumphal entry the athletics proof. Coubertin moves away from the International Olympic committee while resigning of the position of president in 1925.

Ruined, with two heavily handicapped children, it is implied in the organization of the Plays of 1936. It is despite everything land-mark in front of too omnipresent political recovery. He dies in Geneva the following year, victim of an heart attack. He is buried with Lausanne but its Cœur is buried separately in a monument close to the sanctuary of Olympie.

Certain authors lend to him today an active role in the fight for an ideal of racial equality, in particular at the time of the Olympiad of 1904, to St louis, where one makes contribute athletes of America, Africa and Asia with an aim of ridiculing them. Certain biographies of Pierre de Coubertin report indeed that it would have risen of this caricature of competition while affirming: “This masquerade outrageante will strip its tinsels naturally when these Blacks, these Reds, these Yellows learn how to run, to jump, with launching and the White will leave behind them”.

Here however of other declarations of the Baron more prone to polemics:

“There are two distinct races: those with the frank glance, the strong muscles, the step assured and that morbid, with the resigned and humble mine, the overcome air. He well! It is in the colleges as in the world: the weak ones are isolated, the benefit of this education is appreciable only at the forts. ” ( English Education ).

“the theory of the equal rights for all the human races leads to a contrary political line with any colonial progress. Without naturally dropping to the slavery or even to a softened form of serfdom, the race higher rightly than the lower race certain privileges of the civilized life. ” ( The Review off the Reviews , April 1901). -- (strange quotation: to drop or lower it?)

“the first characteristic essential of the old Olympic ideal as well as of the modern Olympic ideal, it is to be a religion. By engraving his body by the exercise like a sculptor of a statue does it, the ancient athlete honoured the gods. While making in the same way, the modern athlete exalte his fatherland, its race, its flag. ” (Pierre de Coubertin, philosophical Bases of the modern Olympic ideal ).

“the races are of different value and with the white race, of higher gasoline, all the others must make allegiance. ” quoted by Boulogne in the Life and the teaching work of Pierre de Coubertin .

Pierre de Coubertin and the Scouting

In 1911, two interdenominational associations scoutes were create in France: scouts of France (EDF) by Nicolas Benoit and the French Scouts (EFF) by Pierre de Coubertin. In 1964, the two organizations met (with the French federation of the Girl guides) to form the Éclaireuses Scouts of France.

The medal Pierre de Coubertin

The medal Pierre de Coubertin (also called medal of the sportivity) is a price which is given by the International Olympic committee to the athletes having shown a true sporting spirit at the time of the Olympic Games. She is considered per many athletes and spectators as the most important reward that an athlete can receive, even more important than a gold medal. The International Olympic committee regards it as its largest honor.

Generally accepted ideas

Coubertin is not an apostle of amateurism, the Olympic currency “citius, altius, fortius” (more quickly, higher, more extremely) is of the father Didon prior of the college of Arcueil and especially, it forever known as “important is to take part”, but in 1908, it takes again a sentence of the bishop of Pennsylvania: “The important thing in the life it is not the triumph, but the combat, essence it is not to have overcome but to be itself well beaten”.

See too

Olympic Museum of Lausanne

External bonds

Coubertin reader of Flaubert

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