Olympic Oath

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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 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 honour 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.

[edit] History

The Olympic Oath, written by Pierre de Coubertin was first taken by a decathlete 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. The oath read by Victor Boin in 1920 was

We swear. 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.

[edit] Speakers

The athletes and judges that have delivered the Olympic Oath are listed below.

Olympic Oath
Olympics Athlete Judge
1920 Summer Olympics Victor Boin -
1924 Winter Olympics Camille Mandrillon -
1924 Summer Olympics Georges André -
1928 Winter Olympics Hans Eidenbenz -
1928 Summer Olympics Henri Dénis -
1932 Winter Olympics Jack Shea -
1932 Summer Olympics George Calnan -
1936 Winter Olympics Wilhelm Bogner -
1936 Summer Olympics Rudolf Ismayr -
1948 Winter Olympics Bibi Torriani -
1948 Summer Olympics Don Finlay -
1952 Winter Olympics Torbjorn Falkanger -
1952 Summer Olympics Heikki Savolainen -
1956 Winter Olympics Giuliana Chenal-Minuzzo -
1956 Summer Olympics John Landy
Henri Saint Cyr
-
1960 Winter Olympics Carol Heiss -
1960 Summer Olympics Adolfo Consolini -
1964 Winter Olympics Paul Aste -
1964 Summer Olympics Takashi Ono -
1968 Winter Olympics Leo Lacroix -
1968 Summer Olympics Pablo Garrido -
1972 Winter Olympics Keiichi Suzuki Fumio Asaki
1972 Summer Olympics Heidi Schüller Heinz Pollay
1976 Winter Olympics Werner Delle-Karth Willy Köstinger
1976 Summer Olympics Pierre St.-Jean Maurice Fauget
1980 Winter Olympics Eric Heiden Terry McDermott
1980 Summer Olympics Nikolay Andrianov Aleksandr Medved
1984 Winter Olympics Bojan Krizaj Dragan Perovic
1984 Summer Olympics Edwin Moses Sharon Weber
1988 Winter Olympics Pierre Harvey Suzanna Morrow-Francis
1988 Summer Olympics Hur Jae Lee Hak-Rae
1992 Winter Olympics Surya Bonaly Pierre Bornat
1992 Summer Olympics Luis Doreste Blanco Eugeni Asensio
1994 Winter Olympics Vegard Ulvang Kari Karing
1996 Summer Olympics Teresa Edwards Hobie Billingsly
1998 Winter Olympics Kenji Ogiwara Junko Hiramatsu
2000 Summer Olympics Rechelle Hawkes Peter Kerr
2002 Winter Olympics Jimmy Shea Allen Church
2004 Summer Olympics Zoe Dimoschaki Lazaros Voreadis
2006 Winter Olympics Giorgio Rocca Fabio Bianchetti