1920 Antwerp Olympics and the first Olympic Oath

Lore & Background

The inspiration for the oath came from the Ancient Olympic Games where competitors swore on a statue of Zeus. An oath for the athletes was first thought of in 1906, following unsportsmanlike incidents. The athletes' oath was first introduced for the 1920 Summer Olympic Games, with Victor Boin being the first person to take the oath on behalf of all athletes. Oaths for officials and coaches were added in 1972 and 2010 respectively. The oath has changed over the years to remove nationalism and to reflect drugs in sport and equality.

In Their Own Story

The stadium hummed with the quiet of a crowd still remembering war—the crack of rifles, the groan of artillery. Flags of nations, some newly born from the wreckage of empires, fluttered in the Antwerp breeze. Victor Boin, his voice steady but carrying the weight of a continent's grief, stepped forward: 'We swear. We will take part in the Olympic Games in a spirit of chivalry, for the honor of our country and for the glory of sport.' The words hung in the air like a prayer, a promise etched not just into the history of every future Games, but into the very soul of a world desperate for peace.

Reader's Guide

At the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, fencer Victor Boin took the first Olympic Oath. The oath was: 'We swear. We will take part in the Olympic Games in a spirit of chivalry, for the honour of our country and for the glory of sport.' In 1961, 'swear' was replaced by 'promise' and 'the honour of our countries' by 'the honour of our teams'. Since the 1984 games, oath takers have sworn on the Olympic Flag instead of their country's flag. In 1999, the oath was amended to include references to doping and drugs. Beginning at the 2018 Winter Olympics, the three oaths were combined into one, led by an athlete. In July 2021, the oath was further refined to highlight inclusion and equality, and the number of oath takers expanded from three to six to ensure a member of each gender was represented in each oath.

Did You Know?

• Giuliana Minuzzo was the first woman to take the athletes' oath at the Winter Games in 1956.
• Heidi Schüller was the first female athlete to take the oath at the Summer Games in 1972.
• The only occasion where more than one person said an oath occurred at the 1988 Summer Olympics when Hur Jae and Shon Mi-Na took the athletes' oath together.
• Rudolf Ismayr was the first Olympic Champion to take the oath, doing so at the 1936 Games.