Former IOC chief Samaranch dead
Source: Agencies |
April 22, 2010, Thursday
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JUAN Antonio Samaranch, a reserved but shrewd dealmaker whose 21-year term as president of the International Olympic Committee was marked by both the unprecedented growth of the games and its biggest ethics scandal, died yesterday.
He was 89.
Samaranch, a courtly former diplomat who served as Spanish ambassador in Moscow, led the IOC from 1980 to 2001. He was considered one of the defining presidents for building the IOC into a powerful global organization and firmly establishing the Olympics as a world force.
Samaranch was admitted to the Quiron Hospital in Barcelona on Sunday after experiencing heart trouble. The hospital said he died at local time 1:25pm.
"If there is a good way to die, I guess it was this way," Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr said. "He had a full life and career."
IOC President Jacques Rogge will be among the dignitaries attending a special ceremony today before the funeral at Barcelona's cathedral later that day.
"I cannot find the words to express the distress of the Olympic family," Rogge said in a statement. "I am personally deeply saddened by the death of the man who built up the Olympic Games of the modern era, a man who inspired me, and whose knowledge of sport was truly exceptional."
The Samaranch era was perhaps the most eventful in IOC history, spanning political boycotts, the end of amateurism and the advent of professionalism, the explosion of commercialization, a boom in growth and popularity of the games, and the scourge of doping.
Reputation
His reputation was scarred most of all by the Salt Lake City scandal, which led to the expulsion of six IOC members and resignation of four others who benefited from more than US$1 million in cash, gifts, scholarships and other favors doled out during the Utah capital's winning bid for the 2002 Winter Games.
Even at the end of his Olympic reign in 2001, Samaranch worked hard to achieve three electoral victories as part of his final legacy: the awarding of the 2008 Olympics to Beijing, the election of Rogge as the new president, and the appointment of his son, Juan Antonio Jr, as an IOC member.
Samaranch spoke of the dramatic changes himself.
"You have to compare what is the Olympics today with what was the Olympics 20 years ago - that is my legacy," he said before his retirement. "It is much more important. Also, all our sources of finances are coming from private sources, not a single dollar from the government. That means we can assure our independence and autonomy.
"And the most important thing - it is easy to say but not to get - is the unity with the national Olympic committees and mainly with the international federations."
Despite the advancing age, Samaranch remained active in Olympic circles and tried to help Madrid secure the games of 2012 and 2016.
Madrid finished third behind winner London and Paris in the 2005 vote for the 2012 Olympics, and second to Rio de Janeiro for 2016.
Samaranch spoke during Madrid's presentation in Copenhagen on October 2, 2009, virtually asking IOC members to send the games to the Spanish capital as a parting gift for an old man close to his final days.
"Dear colleagues, I know that I am very near the end of my time," Samaranch said. "I am, as you know, 89 years old. May I ask you to consider granting my country the honor and also the duty to organize the games and Paralympics in 2016."
He was 89.
Samaranch, a courtly former diplomat who served as Spanish ambassador in Moscow, led the IOC from 1980 to 2001. He was considered one of the defining presidents for building the IOC into a powerful global organization and firmly establishing the Olympics as a world force.
Samaranch was admitted to the Quiron Hospital in Barcelona on Sunday after experiencing heart trouble. The hospital said he died at local time 1:25pm.
"If there is a good way to die, I guess it was this way," Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr said. "He had a full life and career."
IOC President Jacques Rogge will be among the dignitaries attending a special ceremony today before the funeral at Barcelona's cathedral later that day.
"I cannot find the words to express the distress of the Olympic family," Rogge said in a statement. "I am personally deeply saddened by the death of the man who built up the Olympic Games of the modern era, a man who inspired me, and whose knowledge of sport was truly exceptional."
The Samaranch era was perhaps the most eventful in IOC history, spanning political boycotts, the end of amateurism and the advent of professionalism, the explosion of commercialization, a boom in growth and popularity of the games, and the scourge of doping.
Reputation
His reputation was scarred most of all by the Salt Lake City scandal, which led to the expulsion of six IOC members and resignation of four others who benefited from more than US$1 million in cash, gifts, scholarships and other favors doled out during the Utah capital's winning bid for the 2002 Winter Games.
Even at the end of his Olympic reign in 2001, Samaranch worked hard to achieve three electoral victories as part of his final legacy: the awarding of the 2008 Olympics to Beijing, the election of Rogge as the new president, and the appointment of his son, Juan Antonio Jr, as an IOC member.
Samaranch spoke of the dramatic changes himself.
"You have to compare what is the Olympics today with what was the Olympics 20 years ago - that is my legacy," he said before his retirement. "It is much more important. Also, all our sources of finances are coming from private sources, not a single dollar from the government. That means we can assure our independence and autonomy.
"And the most important thing - it is easy to say but not to get - is the unity with the national Olympic committees and mainly with the international federations."
Despite the advancing age, Samaranch remained active in Olympic circles and tried to help Madrid secure the games of 2012 and 2016.
Madrid finished third behind winner London and Paris in the 2005 vote for the 2012 Olympics, and second to Rio de Janeiro for 2016.
Samaranch spoke during Madrid's presentation in Copenhagen on October 2, 2009, virtually asking IOC members to send the games to the Spanish capital as a parting gift for an old man close to his final days.
"Dear colleagues, I know that I am very near the end of my time," Samaranch said. "I am, as you know, 89 years old. May I ask you to consider granting my country the honor and also the duty to organize the games and Paralympics in 2016."
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