Founder of the Modern Olympics

"If you've been enjoying the spectacle of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, you are soaking up a tradition with its roots in the late 19th century. A French aristocrat became an unlikely sporting hero when he devoted himself to reviving the spirit of the Olympics held in ancient Greece.

Pierre de Coubertin, who witnessed his country's defeat at the hands of Bismarck's impressive troops in the Franco-Prussian War, came to believe physical fitness must balance intellectual pursuits. And in time Coubertin came up with a wild dream, a plan to revive the Olympic festivals of the ancient Greeks."

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