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Saturday, August 4, 2012

Let's pause to recall the Olympic Oath


The Olympic Oath (distinct from the Olympic creed) is a solemn promise made by one athlete -- as a representative of each of the participating Olympic competitors; and by one judge -- as a representative of each officiating Olympic referee or other official, at the opening ceremonies of each Olympic Games. It was spoken in Chinese at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and in Italian at the2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

The athlete, from the team of the organizing country, holds a corner of the Olympic Flag while reciting the 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, committing ourselves to a sport without doping and without drugs, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams."

The judge, also from the host nation, likewise holds a corner of the flag but takes a slightly different oath:
"In the name of all the judges and officials, I promise that we shall officiate in these Olympic Games with complete impartiality, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them in the true spirit of sportsmanship."


2 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

And sadly both seem to be impossible dreams...

AstridsSoapbox said...

Perhaps the Chinese badminton players should have read the oath before they let their country down.