Until recently, the official Olympic Motto was “Citius, Altius, Fortius”, a Latin phrase meaning swifter, higher, stronger. The Olympic Motto was adopted by Baron Pierre de Coubertin for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after hearing of its use by Reverend Father Martin Didon of Paris, a Dominican friar and teacher. Didon, head master of Arcueil College, used the phrase while describing the athletic accomplishments of his students at that school. He had previously been at the school Albert Le Grand, where the Latin words were carved in stone above the main entrance. Coubertin used the motto in the very first issue of Revue Olympique.
At the 137th IOC Session, which was a virtual session because of the COVID-19 pandemic, IOC President Thomas Bach recommended changing the Olympic Motto to “swifter, higher, stronger - together.” This was accepted by the 138th IOC Session at Tokyo in July 2021, unanimously, so the new Olympic Motto, as from July 2021, will be “Swifter, Higher, Stronger - Together”, or in proper Latin, “Citius, Altius, Fortius - Communiter”.