Life is not conquering but fighting well

“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.”
Pierre de Coubertin, father of the modern Olympic Games
 
With the Olympics in full swing and team GB on track to achieve their medals target it is great to marvel at the skills, drive, determination, and joy in all the competitors across all events.

 Each competitor will have a back story that many of us will never comprehend. Not just the sacrifices for 4 years (5 years this time around because of Covid), but the physical, mental, and emotional depths they must dive to secure their place in Tokyo. The added pressures of bubbles, isolation plus the absence of family and cheering fans must take some of the gloss away from the experience.
 
Just as the ancient Olympic Games were primarily a religious festival in honour of Zeus, the father of the Greek gods and goddesses held in Olympia, these games are a celebration and a festival which bring hope, create dreams, and inspire so many people across the globe.

Did you know that the Cotswolds had their own games that were influential in the modern day Olympics? In the early 1600’s Robert Dover came up with the idea for a modern Olympics style competition to channel some of the more competitive traits of the local people in Chipping Campden.
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The 1642 Civil War curtailed most non-military or essential activities and so Dover’s Games was suspended. But following the Restoration, Charles II instantly revived the Games.

The next two hundred years saw peaks and troughs in popularity but the core activities, athletics, throwing, jumping, wrestling, horse racing and of course eating and drinking remained. Gambling of many types and fortune telling appeared from time to time, and music was ever present.
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The games still take place and the next one is scheduled for 3rd June 2022.  https://www.olimpickgames.co.uk/