Olympic Spirit

Olympic Spirit is the phrase, which has been much talked about, directly or indirectly, since the beginning of the Olympic Games in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece.

Originally, Olympic Spirit is understood to be the state of mind of the players that inspires them to take part in the Games, play with enthusiasm and motivate themselves to compete, no matter lose or win. It is strangely believed that not the winners, but the losers in the Olympic Games, are blessed with the Olympic Spirit.

Highlighting this fact, some people say: "True Olympic spirit is often found away from gold medallists with their agents and sponsorship deals -- it is found in its purest sense in those that come last."

But some Olympians believe that the moving times are taxing the real nature of the Olympic Spirit. The commercialisation of the games, dropping world records, reports of drug taking and mounting pressure on athletes is blemishing the true Olympic spirit.

Quite strange to the spirit of the game, money has replaced the Olympic spirit to act as the biggest performance enhancer. But still for some devoted Olympians the Olympic Spirit is still alive and flowing.

Official body

Olympic Spirit is also an officially-sanctioned programme of the International Olympic Committee.

Its mission is "to build a peaceful and better world in the Olympic Spirit which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play. Olympic Spirit strives to inspire and motivate the youth of the world to be the best they can be through educational and entertaining interactive challenges."