Reaction to death of former IOC president Samaranch

Published Wed, Apr 21 10 08:48 PM

Reaction to the death of former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch, who died at the age of 89 on Wednesday.

* IOC president Jacques Rogge, who succeeded Samaranch in 2001:

"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.

"Thanks to his extraordinary vision and talent, Samaranch was the architect of a strong and unified Olympic movement.

"I can only pay tribute to his tremendous achievements and legacy and praise his genuine devotion to the Olympic movement and its values."

* International Association of Athletics Federations president Lamine Diack.

"I was very sad to hear about the death of Juan Antonio Samaranch, a man who I have no hesitation in describing as the man who transformed the modern Olympic movement into what it has become today.

"But as well as his unique devotion to the Olympic movement and its values, I will never forget the deep respect and passion that Juan Antonio showed for the sport of athletics. At each Olympics, and every edition of our world championships up until Berlin 2009, Juan Antonio would take his place in the tribune to follow the athletics with enthusiasm and an expert's eye."

* London 2012 Organising Committee chairman and double Olympic 1,500 metres champion Sebastian Coe.

"I have lost a friend, one that moulded my path through sport from my early 20s, and the world has lost an inspirational man. A man that challenged us all to fight for sport, its primacy and its autonomy, a fight he led fearlessly from the front creating an extraordinary sporting movement that reaches millions of people around the world. He was quite simply the most intuitive leader I have ever met."

* Spanish Olympic Committee president Alejandro Blanco.

"Today, a universal Spaniard has passed away who left a legacy of sport, a legacy of values and a legacy of peace which will be difficult to surpass.

"We will not see a figure like Juan Antonio Samaranch again, no country will."

* IOC vice-president Thomas Bach.

"After the boycott of 1980 he saved the Games from destruction and turned it into a global event.

"After (IOC founder) Pierre de Coubertin he was certainly the one president who marked the Games and the movement more than any other, with all his efforts to modernise them and reform them. He opened them up to the modern era."

"He released the grip of politics from the Games, that had become a political football when he took over. He brought in private financing that made the Games even more independent and turned them into what they are today. He succeeded in making them global."

Former IOC vice-president Lambis Nikolaou.

"He was a man who had devoted himself to sport. He made the IOC strong, financially strong. He planned its expansion and was responsible for this unprecedented growth of the movement."

"The last time I saw him was in Vancouver and his assistant told me Samaranch wanted to leave after the Games were over to go on a long trip to China or somewhere far away and she said 'He just has not realised how old he his'. That was Samaranch. He was just unstoppable."

Source: Web Search