The Olympic Oath is taken by an athlete and a judge at the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games.

The athlete, from team of the organising country, holds a corner of the Olympic Flag while speaking the oath:

In the name of all competitors, I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules that govern them, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams, committing ourselves to a sport without doping and without drugs.

The judge, also from the home nation, does the same, but with a slighly different oath:

In the name of all the judges and officials, I promise that we shall officiate in these Olympic Games with complete impartiality, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them in the true spirit of sportsmanship.

History

The Olympic Oath, written by Pierre de Coubertin was first taken by an athlete at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. The first judge's oath was taken at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

The text of the oath has slightly changed over the years. Victor Boin's oath in 1920 was

We swear that 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.

Later, "swear" was replaced by "promise" and "country" by "team". The last part of the final sentence, concerning doping, was added at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Speakers

The athletes and judges that have taken the Olympic Oath are listed below. As the equestrian events in 1956 were held in Stockholm, there were two speakers of the Olympic Oath in that year.

Olympic Oath
OlympicsAthleteJudge
1920 Summer OlympicsVictor Boin-
1924 Winter OlympicsCamille Mandrilon-
1924 Summer OlympicsGeorges André-
1928 Winter OlympicsHans Eidenbenz-
1928 Summer OlympicsHenri Dénis-
1932 Winter OlympicsJack Shea-
1932 Summer OlympicsGeorge Calnan-
1936 Winter OlympicsWilhelm Bogner-
1936 Summer OlympicsRudolf Ismayr-
1948 Winter OlympicsBibi Torriani-
1948 Summer OlympicsDon Finlay-
1952 Winter OlympicsTorbjorn Falkanger-
1952 Summer OlympicsHeikki Savolainen-
1956 Winter OlympicsGiuliana Chenal-Minuzzo-
1956 Summer OlympicsJohn Landy-
 Henri Saint Cyr-
1960 Winter OlympicsCarol Heiss-
1960 Summer OlympicsAdolfo Consolini-
1964 Winter OlympicsPaul Aste-
1964 Summer OlympicsTakashio Ono-
1968 Winter OlympicsLeo Lacroix-
1968 Summer OlympicsPablo Garrido-
1972 Winter OlympicsKeiichi SuzukiFumio Asaki
1972 Summer OlympicsHeidi SchüllerHeinz Pollay
1976 Winter OlympicsWerner Delle-KarthWilly Köstinger
1976 Summer OlympicsPierre St.-JeanMaurice Fauget
1980 Winter OlympicsEric HeidenTerry McDermott
1980 Summer OlympicsNikolay AndrianovAleksandr Medved
1984 Winter OlympicsBojan KrizajDragan Perovic
1984 Summer OlympicsEdwin MosesSharon Weber
1988 Winter OlympicsPierre HarveySuzanna Morrow-Francis
1988 Summer OlympicsHur JaeLee Hak-Rae
1992 Winter OlympicsSurya BonalyPierre Bornat
1992 Summer OlympicsLuis Doreste BlancoEugeni Asensio
1994 Winter OlympicsVegard UlvangKari Karing
1996 Summer OlympicsTeresa EdwardsHobie Billingsly
1998 Winter OlympicsKenji OgiwaraJunko Hiramatsu
2000 Summer OlympicsRechelle HawkesPeter Kerr
2002 Winter OlympicsJimmy SheaAllen Church