De Coubertin had a vision of what he wanted to create and therefore he had to invent some new things to go into the Modern Olympics. He didn’t want the Modern Games to be the same as the Ancient Games, he wanted a modern character and he wanted to put emphasis on the ‘Spirit of Olympism’. This meant that the games should be more about taking part than winning.
Even though the IOC decided that they would not make a copy of the Ancient games they still kept some of the old ideas to incorporate into the new games. One thing that they kept is the ancient structure. The games should be held every 4 years just like the ancient Olympics and, without intervention, should last 2 weeks. Another thing that was adopted was the link between the Olympics and the arts and peace. This is demonstrated however in a new invention: The opening ceremony. Here is where all the nations come together and there should be, in theory, no conflict between them. The crowds that flock to see this ceremony will be greeted by an amazing array of colour and sound. Also this is why between 1912 and 1948 architecture, sculpture, painting, literature and music competitions were part of the Olympic Games. De Coubertin adopted the ideal that art and sport were perfect partners and it was possible to achieve harmony by exercising both body and mind. Another design that was adopted by the IOC was that only amateurs could participate in the Olympics. A famous incident, showing how strict this rule was, occurred when Jim Thorpe won the pentathlon and decathlon and was declared the “greatest athlete in history” by the King, but was then stripped of his medals when it was found he once earned a few pounds playing baseball.
When the Modern Olympic Games were first set up by the IOC it was decided that they would make necessary changes from the Ancient Olympic Games. De Coubertin was the first to state his ideals and how he wanted to change the image of the Olympics. He wanted to change the way many people saw the Olympics as a challenge that they had to win. He thought that it was more important to take part than to actually win. Another one of his ideals was that everybody should have the equal opportunity when participating which is why different weight classes were introduced. Another adaption was the way in which De Coubertin copied the values he found in British public schools when he went over to England in 1890 to visit the Much Wenlock Games, where he was inspired to restart the Olympics by the founder of the ‘Wenlock Olympics’(1850) William Penny Brookes. He put much emphasis on sportsmanship and fair play and it is also where he decided that he would keep amateurs in the games. Another adaption he made was the meaning of the 5 Olympic rings. He designed them to symbolise the first five modern Olympics for a 1914 world Olympic congress.
There were many new inventions when the first Modern Olympic Games were held and some where introduced quite recently. The very first new inventions were a few new events. One main event that was participated in for the first time was the marathon. It was based on the legendary race held by the Greeks. Also the Olympic Torch was first lit at Munich in 1936 and 5 Olympic rings are also a new invention thought up by De Coubertin. One main issue that was fought over for many years and was new to the Olympics was the participation of women. Although De Coubertin was all for equal opportunity he thought that “equality must stop at the threshold of the family hearth”. He fought against there admission for more than 30 years but despite his best efforts 11 women competitors appeared in the Paris Olympics of 1900. Another new invention was the Winter Games. They made their debut at London in 1908 where there was an ice skating competition for men, women and pairs and was repeated again in Antwerp 1920. However there wasn’t a set Winter Games until Chamonix 1924 where there were 6 events held. Also the Paralympics was introduced. Although there is evidence that a ‘games for the paralysed’ was held to coincide with London 1948 the first official Paralympics took place in Rome in 1960. 400 athletes and staff attended from 23 countries, but only in wheelchair sports.
Tomlinson and Whannel made a very valid point. Even though there are some aspects of the Olympics that have been kept since the Ancient Games without the adaptions and inventions put forward by De Coubertin and other members of the IOC, the Olympics might not have been as successful as they are today. One thing though that could be questioned is whether De Coubertin would be happy with what the Olympics has become. Some might say that most of his ideals have been fulfilled and the Olympics is full of equal opportunity and peace, whereas others might point out that the Olympics has started to become more and more influenced my commercialised ideas. Because of this, it is hard to see what the Olympics will be like in 20 or 30 years. As it becomes easier to cheat and gain advantage over other competitors there is no way to tell what the future looks like for these historic games.
