I followed the Olympics Paris 2024 games. I kept my fingers crossed for the Slovenia team.But I admit: the race I followed most wholeheartedly was the MarathonPourTous.
Maxime Le Bihan, who decided to run it, brought attention to the story behind the event. The ambition of inclusiveness offered opportunities for as many people as possible to get close to the heart of the Games adventure.
Not only did 20.024 amateur participants run the path and follow in the footsteps of outstanding athletes. They also paid tribute to French history and revolution, running the same path as the Women’s March on Versailles on 5 October 1789. They contributed that the principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity have become universal values, forming the foundation of modern human rights and democratic ideals around the world.
As much as the Paris Olympic games paid respect to the 1789 French Revolution, they also gave rise to the very meaning of the Olympic spirit. Olympic games were originally, in Old Greece, a ultural event. The games embodied the Greek ideal of arete: excellence or virtue.
Paris elevated the virtue of diversity, equity, and inclusion. And it also shed light on the too often ignored intrinsic meaning of the word compete and competitiveness. Let´s deep dive into the roots.
The word competitiveness is derived from the base word "compete," which has its roots in the Latin word "competere." The Latin term is composed of two parts: "com-" ("together" or "with") and "petere" ("to seek" or "to strive").
So, "competere" literally means "to strive together."
Nowadays we probably pay too much attention to the rivalry dimension of competitiveness, the one that can drive individuals or entities to outperform others.
Yet competitiveness also inherits a collective ambition. It can inspire mutual growth and a shared pursuit of excellence, leading to a more inclusive and sustainable form of progress where success is defined not just by beating others but by achieving the best possible outcomes together.
In my eyes and heart, this is the true sense of Olympics. And business leadership as well.
- Edita Krajnović, Mediade