President of the International Olympic Committee

The 1906 Summer Olympics re&i&ed the momentum! and the Olympic ,ames ha&e come to be regarded as the worlds foremost sports competition. Coubertin created the modern pentathlon for the 191 Olympics! and subse"uently stepped down from his #OC presidency after the 19 $ Olympics in n %aris! which pro&ed much more successful than the first attempt in that city in 1900. 'e was succeeded as president! in 19 (! by )elgian 'enri de )aillet7.atour. Coubertin remained 'onorary %resident of the #OC until he died in 19*+ in ,ene&a! Swit-erland. 'e was buried in .ausanne /the seat of the #OC0! although! in accordance with his will! his heart was buried separately in a monument near the ruins of ancient ancient Olympia.

Personal Olympic success

Coubertin won the gold medal for literature at the 191 Summer Olympics for his poem Ode to Sport.

Scouting

#n 1911! %ierre de Coubertin founded the inter7religious inter religious Scouting organisation Eclaireurs Franais /120 in 2rance! which later merged to form the 1claireuses et 1claireurs de 2rance. 2rance

Later life

%ierre was the last person to the family name. #n the words of his biographer 3ohn 4ac5loon! 6The last of his lineage! %ierre de Coubertin was the only member of it whose fame would outli&e him.6

Criticism

Statue at Lausanne

Coubertin8s legacy has been criticised by a number of scholars. 9a&id C. :oung! a scholar of anti"uity who has studied the ancient Olympic ,ames! belie&es that Coubertin misunderstood the ancient ,ames and therefore based his ;ustification for the creation of the modern ,ames on false grounds. Specifically! :oung points to Coubertin8s assertion that ancient Olympic athletes were amateurs as incorrect.< This "uestion of the professionalism of ancient Olympic athletes is a sub;ect of debate amongst scholars! with :oung and others arguing that the athletes were professional throughout the history of the ancient ,ames! while other scholars led by %le=et argue that the earliest Olympic athletes were in fact amateur! and that the ,ames only became professionalised after about $>0 )C1. Coubertin agreed with this latter &iew! and saw this professionalisation as undercutting the morality of the competition. 2urther! :oung asserts that the effort to limit international competition to amateur athletes! which Coubertin was a part of! was in fact part of efforts to gi&e the upper classes greater control o&er athletic competition! remo&ing such control from the wor=ing classes. Coubertin may ha&e played a role in such a mo&ement! but his defenders argue that he did so unconscious of any class repercussions. 'owe&er! it is clear that his romanticised &ision of the Olympic ,ames was fundamentally different from that described in the historical record. 2or e?ample! de Coubertin8s idea that participation is more important than winning /6.8important c8est de participer60 is at odds with the ideals of the ,ree=s. The 5postle %aul! writing in the first century to Christians in the city of Corinth where the #sthmian ,ames were held! reflects this in his writings when he says! 69o you not =now that in a race all the runners run! but only one gets the pri-e@ Aun in such a way as to get the pri-e6! /1 Corinthians 9B $0. Coubertin8s assertion that the ,ames were the impetus for peace was also an e?aggerationC the peace which he spo=e of only e?isted to allow athletes to tra&el safely to Olympia! and neither pre&ented the outbrea= of wars nor ended ongoing ones. Scholars ha&e criti"ued the idea that athletic competition might lead to greater understanding between cultures and! therefore! to peace. Christopher 'ill claims that modern participants in the Olympic mo&ement may defend this particular belief! 6in a spirit similar to that in which the Church of 1ngland remains attached to the Thirty7Dine 5rticles of Aeligion! which a %riest in that Church must sign.6 #n other words! that they may not wholly belie&e it but hold to it for historical reasons. Euestions ha&e also been raised about the &eracity of Coubertin8s account of his role in the planning of the 1>96 5thens ,ames. 5ccording to :oung! either due to personal or professional distractions! Coubertin played little role in planning! despite entreaties by Fi=elas. :oung also suggests that the story about Coubertin8s ha&ing s=etched the &elodrome were untrue! and that he had in fact gi&en an inter&iew in which he suggested he did not want ,ermans to participate! something he later denied in a letter to the Gaiser.<

Legacy

The Olympic motto Citius, Altius, Fortius /2aster! 'igher! Stronger0 was proposed by Coubertin in 1>9$ and has been official since 19 $. The motto was coined by 'enri 9idon O%! a friend of Coubertin! for a %aris youth gathering of 1>91. The %ierre de Coubertin medal /also =nown as the Coubertin medal or the True Spirit of Sportsmanship medal0 is an award gi&en by the #nternational Olympic Committee to those athletes that demonstrate the spirit of sportsmanship in the Olympic ,ames. This medal is considered by many athletes and spectators to be the highest award that an Olympic athlete can recei&e! e&en greater than a gold medal. The #nternational Olympic Committee considers it as its highest honour. 5 minor planet 190 Coubertin disco&ered in 19+6 by So&iet astronomer Di=olai Stepano&ich Cherny=h is named in his honour. The street where the Olympic Stadium in 4ontreal is located /which hosted the 19+6 Summer Olympic ,ames0 was named after %ierre de Coubertin! gi&ing the stadium the address $($9 %ierre de Coubertin 5&enue. #t is the only Olympic Stadium in the world that lies on a street named after Coubertin. There are also two schools in 4ontreal named after %ierre de Coubertin. 'e was portrayed by .ouis 3ourdan in the 19>$ D)C miniseries! The 2irst OlympicsB 5thens 1>96.

List of works

This is a listing of %ierre de Coubertin8s boo=s. #n addition to these! he wrote numerous articles for ;ournals and maga-inesB Une Campagne de 21 ans. %arisB .ibrairie de l8Hducation %hysi"ue. 190>. La Chronique de France ( !ols"#. 5u?erre and %arisB .anier. 190071906. L$%ducation anglaise en France. %arisB 'achette. 1>>9. L$%ducation en Angleterre. %arisB 'achette. 1>>>. Essais de ps&chologie sporti!e. .ausanneB %ayot. 191*. L$%!olution 'ranaise sous la (roisi)me *+pu,lique. %arisB 'achette. 1>96. France Since 1-1.. Dew :or=B 4acmillan. 1900. La /&mnastique utilitaire. %arisB 5lcan. 190(. 0istoire uni!erselle (. !ols"#. 5i?7en7%ro&enceB SociItI de l8histoire uni&erselle. 1919. 1+moires ol&mpiques. .ausanneB )ureau international de pIdagogie sporti&e. 19*1. 2otes sur l$+ducation pu,lique. %arisB 'achette. 1901.

3ages d$histoire contemporaine. %arisB %lon. 190>. 3+dagogie sporti!e. %arisB CrIs. 19 .

Le *espect 1utuel. %arisB 5lean. 191(. Sou!enirs d$Am+rique et de /r)ce. %arisB 'achette. 1>9+. Uni!ersit+s transatlantiques. %arisB 'achette. 1>90.