Olympic Symbols - Olympic Salute

Olympic Salute

The Olympic salute is a variant of the Roman salute, with the right arm and hand are stretched and pointing upward, the palm is outward and downward, with the fingers touching. However, the arm is raised higher and at an angle to the right from the shoulder.

The greeting is visible on the official posters of the games at Paris 1924 and Berlin 1936. Also famous is the French and Canadian teams entering the Olympic stadium in Berlin, 1936 with their arms raised. In the Leni Riefenstahl film Olympia this scene was captured, and afterwards led to repeated misinterpretations suggesting that the French and Canadian delegations were saluting Hitler.

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Famous quotes containing the words olympic and/or salute:

    Like Olympic medals and tennis trophies, all they signified was that the owner had done something of no benefit to anyone more capably than everyone else.
    Joseph Heller (b. 1923)

    There is only one thing that a man really wants to do, all his life; and that is, to find his way to his God, his Morning Star, salute his fellow man, and enjoy the woman who has come the long way with him.
    —D.H. (David Herbert)