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Here’s why the Olympics have a French connection (and it ain’t just Paris 2024)
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FILE - The bronze bust of the French Baron Pierre de Coubertin stands at the entrance of the Hellenic Olympic Committee building in Athens, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Coubertin envisioned the Olympics as a pacifist exercise that could foster international cooperation and peace, especially in the wake of France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. The worst charge against Coubertin, was a personal letter he sent to Adolf Hitler praising the Nazi dictator and the Third Reich. he Coubertin family association, run by Pierre de Coubertin's descendants, denied in a statement to the Associated Press that Hitler and Coubertin maintained regular correspondence. - photo by AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File
PARIS (AP) — Ever wondered why French is spoken during medal announcements at the Olympic Games? The truth is that while the ancient Olympics originated in Greece, its modern incarnation is very much a French affair. The Games were revived in the 1890s by a French nobleman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who now holds a questionable legacy.