Josep Elias i Juncosa the first «apostle» for the Olympic Games and school sport in Spain

Abstract

In Spain, history is still indebted to the contributions of many well-known and pioneering people who have led the contemporary promotion of sport. On this question, this article looks at essential testimonies for rescuing the forgotten figure of Josep Elias i Juncosa, who we consider to be the first apostle of the Olympic Games and school sport in Spain. Based on a review of primary source bibliography from 1900 to 1924 on physical education and sport, and with the contribution of the bibliographical data published about Josep Elias, we have produced a historical-critical report with the aim of historically (re)positioning this important Catalan sportsman. Josep Elias’s commitment to sport and his diffusion of the ideas of Tomas Arnold and the Baron Pierre de Coubertin in Spain make him worthy of consideration as one of the main promoters of sport at the beginning of the twentieth century and also an eminent ambassador for sports pedagogy.