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IOC Honorary President Juan Antonio Samaranch has passed away
Honorary President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Juan Antonio Samaranch died yesterday at the age of 90 in a clinic in Barcelona. “We have lost a great man, our mentor and friend, who dedicated his entire long and eventful life to the Olympic Games,” said current IOC head Jacques Rogge.On Tuesday, Mr. Samaranch was admitted to the Quiron Clinic's intensive care unit with acute heart failure.
At first, Samaranch’s health condition was assessed by doctors as “severe, but stable.” But then there was a sharp deterioration, and he died.
Juan Antonio Samaranch was born on July 17, 1920 in Barcelona (Spain). He graduated from a German college, a higher business school in Barcelona, studied in England and the USA, and subsequently received a diploma from the Barcelona Institute of Higher Business Management. He was a board member of various banks. In 1977 he switched to diplomatic work. The first Ambassador of Spain to the USSR and Mongolia (1977-1980). Member of the International Olympic Committee in 1966-2001. Member of the IOC Executive Committee (1970--1978; 1979--2001); Vice President of the IOC (1974--1978). In 1980, at the IOC session in Moscow, he was elected president of this organization. In 2001, also at the IOC session in Moscow, he transferred powers to the newly elected head of this organization, Jacques Rogge.
“When Samaranch became president of the IOC, the Olympic movement was experiencing a deep crisis,” Alexander Ratner, Deputy Secretary General of the ROC, permanent assistant, translator and friend of Samaranch, told a correspondent of the Vremya Novostei newspaper. -- In just a few years, Samaranch managed to solve global problems: make the IOC an authoritative organization, preserve the Olympic Games, and ensure an influx of financial resources. From the perspective of today, we can say what was right and what was wrong. But one thing remains undeniable: under Samaranch, the Olympic movement, which was on the verge of collapse, turned into a billion-dollar business from which everyone benefits today.
There are many moments to remember. And how he came to Moscow in 1984 to convince the Soviet leadership to take part in the Olympics in Los Angeles, recalls Alexander Ratner. — I tried to explain that no one needs a boycott of the Games, that from a political point of view, to perform with dignity in the United States, to show one’s strength in sports arenas means to demonstrate an advantage in other areas. But we spent three days in the Kremlin, we were taken on excursions, and in the end the Minister of Communications, Mr. Talyzin, received us, but it is clear that this issue was not within his competence. Then Samaranch came to us again and waited for a meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev, but for inexplicable reasons it did not take place. In 1992, on the eve of the Games in Barcelona, Samaranch flew to Moscow in February to meet with Yeltsin and discuss the participation of athletes from the countries of the former USSR in the upcoming Games. And here’s what’s amazing: in 15 minutes, two people who had never communicated with each other before made epoch-making decisions, which were subsequently carried out from start to finish.
In general, Samaranch came to our country more than 25 times. Not only to sporting events, but also to the festival of youth and students, the Goodwill Games, which he had a negative attitude towards, to the Olympic balls, which were organized by the OCD. He met with the public, veterans, and awarded Olympic orders.
The last time I saw him was at the Olympic Games in Vancouver. He was concerned about the results of the Russians, asking how we were going to win the Games in Sochi if there were neither young people nor incentives that could force young people to take up sports in the changed conditions. He didn’t look for who was right and who was wrong, he saw problems. And this, perhaps, was his distinctive feature: to look into the future...
I remember the year 97. IOC headquarters in Lausanne. Then Samaranch thought a lot about whether he should remain as head of the IOC or leave. Someone said that this was wrong, that he was irreplaceable, to which Samaranch noted that there is a wonderful Spanish proverb: “cemeteries are full of irreplaceable people.” It's hard to agree with this. What this great man did will be reflected upon by subsequent generations for decades to come.”
Juan Antonio Samaranch will be buried today in Barcelona, the funeral ceremony is scheduled for six in the evening.