The expression “The main thing is not victory, but participation” today has gone far beyond the scope of sports. It is used both as a consolation for losers and in an ironic tone, as an assessment of the chances of outsiders in a particular type of activity.

This phrase is sometimes called the Olympic motto. This is not entirely true - the Olympic movement has one official motto: “Citius, Altius, Fortius!” - “Faster, Higher, Stronger!” By the way, the author of this phrase is a colleague Baron Pierre de Coubertin on the Olympic movement French priest Henri Didon. He said it while opening a sports competition at one of the colleges. The Baron liked the phrase, and he established it as the official motto of the Olympics.

Long Olympics

The story of the emergence of the unofficial motto turned out to be much more dramatic. This happened in 1908, during the IV Olympic Games in London.

By this time, the Olympics gradually began to gain popularity, but in terms of organization they were, of course, very far from modern ones.

Suffice it to say that they were spread out over several months - the first competition began on April 27, and the last set of medals was awarded only on October 31.

At the same time, the opening ceremony of the Games took place on July 13, and instead of the closing ceremony, a festive banquet was held on October 31.

The 1908 Games in London are notable for Russia because it was at them that our country got its first Olympic champion. He became Nikolay Panin-Kolomenkin, who won gold in... figure skating competitions. The Winter Olympics did not yet exist, and figure skaters competed in the Summer Games.

However, the story of Nikolai Panin-Kolomenkin deserves a separate story, but now let’s return to our main topic.

So, the main part of the Games started on July 13, 1908, and this start was not without scandal. Attended the opening ceremony King Edward VII of England along with his wife Alexandra. During the parade, flag bearers raised the countries' flags in honor of the king, but the US delegation did not do so. The problem was that the organizers, instead of the flags of the USA and Sweden, raised the flags of China and Japan at the stadium, whose delegations were not present at the Olympics. The offended Yankees got even with the king of the former metropolis. Edward VII was already offended by this, and two weeks later he refused to take part in the award ceremony.

For the convenience of the monarch

The main program of the London Olympics was athletics, and the highlight of athletics was the marathon.

It was at the 1908 Olympics that the length of the marathon was the current 42 kilometers 195 meters. The fact is that at the first Olympics this distance was not clearly regulated. At the first Olympics in 1896 in Athens, the distance ran from the town of Marathon to the capital of Greece, that is, it repeated the route overcome by a Greek warrior named Pheidippides, who, according to legend, brought news of victory in the battle over the Persians to Athens. True, the warrior ran “only” 34.5 km, and the organizers increased the route for athletes to 40 km.

At the next two Olympics, the length of the route was also about 40 km. The main condition remained that it should be the same for all participants.

The organizers of the Games in London had also already decided on the route, when suddenly King Edward VII and his family intervened, asking to change the route of the marathon so that the royal family could watch the marathon runners from the balcony of Windsor Castle.

The length of the modified route was 42 km 195 meters. Over the course of two more Olympics, the length of the marathons would change until the International Athletics Federation finally approved the “royal standard” in 1921.

Italian courage and American protest

One person probably cursed the English king all his life for this reform. It's about Italianrunner Dorando Pietri.

Pietri purposefully prepared for the London Marathon, counting on victory. The marathon race took place on a very hot day, and it started in the thick of it - at half past three in the afternoon.

Pietri started slowly, gradually overtaking his competitors. By the 32nd kilometer he was in second place, at the 39th the former leader “broke”, and only three kilometers remained between the Italian and the gold medal.

What followed was one of the greatest dramas in sports history. The completely exhausted Pietri ran to the stadium, where 75 thousand spectators greeted him. He had a few hundred meters left to the finish line, but the athlete lost his orientation and ran in the wrong direction. When the judges managed to explain this to the athlete, he tried to turn around, but fell. He managed to get up only with the help of the judges, but he continued running. What happened next looked like gladiator fights - in the last 200 meters of the distance Pietri fell four times, got up with the help of the judges, but still crossed the finish line. Shocked Arthur Conan Doyle, who worked as a reporter at the Games, wrote: "The Italian's greatest effort will never be erased from the history of the sport, regardless of the judges' decision."

Speaking about the judge's decision, the writer meant that the referees were not allowed to help the marathon runner. And it was precisely on this that the protest of the delegation, as you already guessed, from the USA was based, which demanded to reconsider the results of the race. The Americans had a vested interest - they finished second US athlete John Hayes.

After considering the protest, the judges decided to disqualify Pietri and give the gold medal to Hayes.

A phrase from a sermon that has gone down among the people

The great tragedy of Pietri, who may have been killed by the distance meters added for the convenience of the royal family, shocked the whole world. Queen Alexandra ordered a special cup for the Italian, which was presented to him at the award ceremony - the very one where the king did not appear.

A few days after the drama at the marathon, a service dedicated to the Olympic participants was held in London's St. Paul's Cathedral. Delivered a sermon American Bishop of South Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) Ethelbert Talbot. Commenting on a passage from the Apostle Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, and recalling the story of Dorando Pietri, Talbot said: “In the end, the real Olympics teach us only one reliable lesson: The Games themselves are better than the race and the prize. St. Paul tells us how little the reward means. Our reward is not that which is perishable, but that which is imperishable; and although only one can receive the laurel crown, all can share in the equal joy of the competition.”

The priest’s phrase was remembered by everyone present, but especially Pierre de Coubertin. A few more days later, already at a government banquet in honor of the Olympians, he will refer to Talbot’s sermon and formulate the main idea as follows: At these Olympics, it is important not so much to win as to participate.

From that very moment the victorious path of the catchphrase “The main thing is not victory, but participation” began. The baron himself never attributed its authorship to himself, but rumor and the press eventually made Pierre de Coubertin an “unwitting plagiarist.”

As for Dorando Pietri, the London tragedy made him incredibly popular. Over the next three years, he participated in marathon races in different countries of the world, earning a fantastic amount for an athlete by the standards of that time - 200,000 lire. In the fall of 1908, as well as in the spring of 1909, Pietri in the United States competed with John Hayes in specially organized races that attracted tens of thousands of spectators. The Italian won both times, but this could no longer bring him an Olympic gold medal.

But the main thing is not victory, the main thing is participation!

Dorando Pietri finishes the marathon

“We have just been contemplating the great Olympic Games. What does it mean? It means that young men of robust physical life have come from all parts of the world. It does mean, I think, as someone has said, that this era of internationalism as seen in the Stadium has an element of danger. Of course, it is very true, as he says, that each athlete strives not only for the sake of sport, but for the sake of his country. Thus a new rivalry is invented. If England be beaten on the river, or America outdistanced on the racing path, or that American has lost the strength which she once possessed. Well, what of it? The only safety after all lies in the lesson of the real Olympia - that the Games themselves are better than the race and the prize. St. Paul tells us how insignificant is the prize, Our prize is not corruptible, but incorruptible, and though only one may wear the laurel wreath, all may share the equal joy of the contest. All encouragement, therefore, be given to the exhilarating - I might also say soul-saving - interest that comes in active and fair and clean athletic sports.”

(“The Olympic Games are now taking place. What is their danger? The fact is that young people, who have come from all over the world to prove their strength and dexterity, are fighting not only for prizes, but also, as it were, defending the honor of their country. A new reason for competition is emerging Yes, England can lose in rowing, America can lose in those disciplines in which they once won. So what should the only lesson from the Olympics be that it’s not winning the competition that’s important, but participating in the Games itself? ")

Five days later, on July 24, the idea expressed by Talbot was paraphrased by the founder of the Olympic movement, Pierre Coubertin:

"The important thing in life is not victory but combat; it is not to have vanquised but to have fought well. By spreading these precepts we will prepare a more courageous, stronger, more scrupulous and generous humanity"

(“The most important thing in life is not victory, but struggle. The main thing is not to win, but to fight bravely. By developing these principles, we will create a braver, stronger, more conscientious and noble humanity.”

And on July 25, Talbot’s idea was brought to life: a special prize was awarded to the Italian marathon runner Dorando Pietri, who, while in the lead, lost consciousness several times just before the finish line, and finished the distance with the help of spectators, for which he was disqualified.

Using a catchphrase

— “Near the girls, the camp physical education teacher pronounced another truth of the great Olympian: “.(Evgeniy Veltistov “New Adventures of Electronics”)
— “The authorship of this phrase belongs not to the ideologist of the Olympic movement de Coubertin, but to the Pennsylvania bishop.”(Vladislav Bykov, Olga Derkach “Book of the Century”)
— “The meaning of privatization is to implement the principle: the division of rewards”(Valery Agranovsky. “The second most ancient. Conversations about journalism”)

Geraskina Evgenia. Lyceum No. 62, Saratov, Saratov region, Russia
Essay in English with translation. Nomination Other.

The main thing - not to win, most importantly - to participate

"The main thing is not to win, most importantly - to participate", says the well-known Russian proverb. Few people share this view. Each of us wants to reach our goals and dreams, to realize our desires. But what is more important - the achievement of goals or the process?

From birth man seeks something, even on a subconscious level. The baby is eager to role over on his tummy, and later - learn to walk, later - talk. All these are aspirations. Without aspirations there would not be a human. Often to achieve his goals, the man has to overcome many obstacles, but does beingthat make him stronger?

But back to the main question: what is more important - victory or desire to win? Victory sometimes doesn`t mean anything, it`s important to try, test yourself, believe in yourself. In any competition it`s important to outdo myself and become better. If you get over yourself, you win everything and everyone. It doesn`t matter, you reach your goal or not, the main thing - you tried. You Must strive to win, try, but if you really want - "the whole universe will help make your wish come true." It`s important to realize, what you really need, it`s important to understand, when the goal justifies the means and when - doesn`t.

"The main thing is not to win, most importantly - to participate." Many people believe that this saying is for losers. I think quite differently. Maybe many people misunderstand it? Let is take the simplest example: on the school Mathematical Olympiad

I did not win first place. I would be a pity, because Idid not show not the best result. But is this a reason to be upset? Not at all, it`s just a reason to improve my knowledge on the subject. In this case you just need to draw conclusions, brush up on everything and next time try to take first place.

“The victory should go to the strongest,” the phrase we often hear. The strong man - a man, who would be able to cope with obstacles in his life. The person must be mentally prepared to win and to lose. So never forget that victory - is not important. It should be noted that it is important to learn to enjoy other people`s victories. Don`t get mad because you have lost. Be glad that you tried something, be happy for the winner. Be happy sincerely.

The main thing - do not give up. Defeat should be only incentive for a new effort and give strength, should teach something. If you will try to make all possible efforts and to act honestly - you`re already a winner. But the most important thing in any situation - be a man.

“The main thing is not victory, the main thing is participation,” says the famous Russian proverb. Few share this view. Each of us dreams of achieving our goals, dreams of making what we want come true. But what is more important - achieving these goals or the process itself?

From birth, a person strives for something, even on a subconscious level. The baby really wants to roll over on his tummy, later - learn to walk, and even later - talk. These are all aspirations. Without aspirations there would be no man. Often, in order to achieve set goals, a person has to overcome many obstacles, but doesn’t this make him stronger?

But let's return to the main question: what is more important - victory or the desire to win? Victory sometimes doesn’t mean anything, it’s important to try, test yourself, believe in yourself. In any competition, it is important to surpass yourself and become better. If you surpass yourself, you will conquer everything and everyone. It doesn’t matter whether you achieve your goal or not, the main thing is that you tried. You need to make an effort to win, try, but if you really want it, “The whole Universe will help make your wish come true.” It is important to understand what you really need; It is important to understand when the end justifies the means and when it does not.

“The main thing is not victory, the main thing is participation.” Many people think that this saying is for losers. I think completely differently. Perhaps many people misunderstand it? Let's consider a simple example: there is a mathematics Olympiad at school, and I take part in it, but do not take first place. I will be a little sorry because I didn’t show the best result. But is this a reason to be upset? Not at all, this is just a reason to improve your knowledge on this subject. In this case, you just need to “refresh” the knowledge in your memory, learn everything and next time try to take first place.

“Victory must go to the strongest,” is a phrase we often hear. A strong person is a person who can cope with obstacles in his life. A person must be mentally prepared for both winning and losing. You should never forget that winning is not the main thing. It is worth noting that it is important to learn to enjoy other people’s victories. Don't be angry because you lost. Be happy that you tried, learned something for yourself, be happy for the winner. Be sincerely happy.

Under no circumstances should you give up. Failure should be an incentive to try again, it should encourage and give strength, it should teach something. If you want to win, if you try, make every effort and act honestly, you are already a winner. But the most important thing in any situation is to remain human.