Olympic Oath
The Olympic Oath is taken by an athlete and a judge at the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games. It was spoken in Greek in Athens 2004.
The athlete, from team of the organising country, holds a corner of the Olympic Flag while speaking 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 honour of our teams.
The judge, also from the home nation, does the same, but with 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.
History
The Olympic Oath, written by Pierre de Coubertin was first taken by an athlete at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. The first judge's oath was taken at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
The text of the oath has slightly changed over the years. Victor Boin's oath in 1920 was
- We swear that we will take part in the Olympic Games in a spirit of chivalry, for the honor of our country and for the glory of sport.
Later, "swear" was replaced by "promise" and "country" by "team". The part concerning doping, was added at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Speakers
The athletes and judges that have taken the Olympic Oath are listed below. As the equestrian events in the 1956 Summer Olympics were held in Stockholm, there were two speakers of the Olympic Oath in that year.
