What is the Olympic motto? We had no idea there even was one

Now that the first week of the 2018 Winter Olympics is coming to a close in PyeongChang, we’re reflecting on how much fun it’s been to see what this year’s competing athletes are capable of. All of them embody the motto of the Olympics, but surprisingly enough, a lot of people have no idea what that is. So what is the Olympic motto? It comes from Latin words that must mean a lot to everyone who has trained to take home medals this year.

The Olympic motto is “Citius, Altius, Fortius,” which means “Faster, higher, stronger.” According to Brittanica, Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the Olympics (way back in the 1880s, because yeah, this is a really old tradition), was inspired to revive Ancient Greece’s Olympics to create games closer to what we know today, and this phrase is something that tied together all of the values he thought athletes should embrace.

Thinking about the Olympians we’ve seen killing it in PyeongChang this week, it seems like de Coubertin really nailed what it means to be a part of the Olympics.

If you want to make it to the Games, let alone medal, it’s kind of necessary to be “faster, higher, [and] stronger” than your competition. Some of the events that have already aired have introduced us to athletes who are performing mind-boggling feats — because that’s just what they do. It’s casual. I mean, can we talk about Chloe Kim, please? She’s as “faster, higher, stronger” as it gets.

The next time you watch an Olympic event, keep that motto in mind. You might be surprised at how much it applies to everyone there.