What is sport?

Judging from the reactions caused by the massive drugs haul of the 1998 Tour de France, it seems to have come as a complete surprise to the authorities that doping was a widespread phenomenon in top professional sport. While this may be a cause for wonderment, it can in all likelihood be linked to the fact that since Pierre de Coubertin hit upon the idea of creating the Olympic Games, sport has been over-promoted as character-building; as a public or social good. It is not surprising, therefore, that time and again it manages to arouse the indignation of politicians, the media and the broader public. It is certainly true that Coubertin had a picture of the nature of sport and

honoured the innate human will to excel and strive for perfection, a view reflected, for example, in the Olympic motto, ‘citius, altius, fortius’. However, in order to gain backing for his idea, he often promoted sport in words that were in direct opposition to its true nature. He described it as healthy and character-building, and when, during the Olympic Games of 1908 he heard Bishop Talbot in St. Paul’s Cathedral say the now famous words, ‘In these Olympiads, the important thing is not winning, but taking part’ (Coubertin 2000: 587), he evidently recognised that no maxim could better promote the Olympic idea, and he immediately made it his own, adding: ‘The important thing in life is not victory, but struggle: the essential is not to conquer, but to fight well’ (ibid.: 587). In doing so, however, he set out on a pedagogical quest and placed a burden on sport which it cannot bear. This pedagogical aspect has to a large extent become the basis for sport’s legitimisation, and this is echoed in WADA’s idealistic notion of the values of sport:

Often referred to as ‘the spirit of sport’; it is the essence of Olympism, it is how we play true. The spirit of sport is the celebration of the human spirit, body and mind, and is characterised by the following values:

Ethics, fair play and honesty. Health. Excellence in performance. Character and education. Fun and joy.