Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship is traditional value in sports and competition. It means playing clean and handling both victory and defeat with grace, style, and dignity.

Sportsmanship is generally understood to include

• playing fair
• following the rules of the game
• respecting the judgment of referees and officials
• treating opponents with respect

The ideal of sportsmanship argues that "it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, but how you play the game".

Sportsmanship can be different depending on the game itself or the culture of the group. For example, in the sport of cricket, a player will sometimes acknowledge that he is out by walking off the field, even though the umpires (game officials) had thought that he was not out. In another example, a tennis player who sees a ball go in but is called out by the linesperson could concede the point or suggest the opponent make a challenge, as was the case with professional tennis player Jack Sock on at least two occasions.

Olympic Games

In the context of the Olympic Games, athletes are expected to do their best. Otherwise, they would go against the Olympic motto of "Faster, Higher, Stronger".

Select examples of good sportsmanship

• Eugenio Monti in the bobsleigh at the 1964 Winter Olympics at Innsbruck
• Lawrence Lemieux in sailing at the 1988 Summer Olympics at Seoul
• Shin Lam in fencing at the 2012 Summer Olympics at London

Select examples of bad sportsmanship

In the London Olympics, some athletes attempted to lose their badminton matches, including

• Tian Qing, Zhao Yunlei, Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang of China
• Jung Kyung-eun, Kim Ha-na, Ha Jung-eun and Kim Min-jung of South Korea
• Greysia Polii and Meilana Jauhari of Indonesiaз

Related pages

• Pierre de Coubertin medal
• Sportsperson
• Unsportsmanlike conduct