Faster, higher, stronger, and now ‘together’: Olympics motto gets addition after 127 years

Should he retain the 100m freestyle title, Kyle Chalmers will have to add some ink to his right forearm. The Australian tattooed “Citius, Altius, Fortius” after winning gold in Rio. If he wins in Tokyo, he would need to add “Communiter” (or Communis) because the Olympic motto has been given an upgrade.

On Tuesday, the motto that would translate as “Faster, Higher, Stronger” had “Together”

NEW DELHI:

hyphenated to it.

The International Olympic Committee went with Communiter as Latin for together, but several reports used the word Communis.

“We have to adapt the motto to our times. The collaborative effort is bringing faster and better results…” said IOC president Thomas Bach. “This is a milestone in our development... We want to put special focus on solidarity,” he said.

Citius, Altius, Fortius has been the motto of the modern Olympics since IOC was created in 1894. It was coined by Henri Didon, a friend of Pierre de Coubertin, the IOC’S French founder.

Talking togetherness could seem at odds at this year’s Games, where isolation is part of the protocol, where fans are barred — as are hugs, high-fives and handshakes — athletes discouraged from hitting bars after 8pm, and the whole thing is being held in a city that is in a state of emergency. But the manner in which the planet joined in the fight against Covid-19 and the reorganisation that was needed to shift the Games by one year added to the spirit of collaboration. Bach’s statement then feels right: “Tokyo Olympics will give humanity faith in the future.”

WE HAVE TO ADAPT THE MOTTO TO OUR TIMES, SAID IOC PREZ BACH ABOUT

THE CHANGE