Juan Antonio Samaranch, who steered the Olympic movement through two turbulent decades marked by political boycotts, bribery and drug scandals plus a greater emphasis on commercialism, has died at the age of 89. Appointed honorary life president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) when he stepped down as president in 2001, Samaranch was admitted to the Quiron clinic in his native Barcelona Sunday with acute heart problems and passed away at 1325 local time (1125 GMT) Wednesday. He had died as a result of “cardio-respiratory failure” hospital doctor Rafael Esteban said in a statement. “I cannot find the words to express the distress of the Olympic Family,” IOC president Jacques Rogge said. “We have lost a great man, a mentor and a friend who dedicated his long and fulfilled life to the Olympics.” Olympic gold medallist Sebastian Coe, now chairman of the 2012 London Olympics organizing committee, said he had lost a friend 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,” Coe said. “He was quite simply the most intuitive leader I have ever met.” Once one of the most powerful figures in world sport, who wielded influence on the Olympic movement right up until his death, Samaranch had suffered a number of health problems since his retirement and was admitted to hospital several times. He ran the IOC with absolute authority for two decades and the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, which transformed the Catalan port city, were seen as his personal triumph. His supporters believe he showed political skill in a difficult period – a US-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics followed by an eastern-bloc retaliation in 1984 at Los Angeles – to lead the Games into the era of professional sport and turn it into a huge money-spinner. His critics argue that many of the original values of the movement were obscured in the search for commercial success, leading to high-profile bribery and drugs scandals. He stepped down in July 2001, 21 years after he had been elected as the IOC's seventh president, and was made life president when he handed power to Rogge. At last October's vote in Copenhagen on the host for the 2016 Games, Samaranch made an emotional appeal to IOC members to grant him a last favor and choose Madrid but they picked Rio de Janeiro instead. “I know that I am very near the end of my time,” Samaranch said during Madrid's final presentation. Born on July 17 1920, Samaranch enjoyed success as a roller skater and led the Spanish team to the world title. After taking a business diploma in Barcelona Samaranch became in quick succession an economics teacher, then chairman of the powerful Catalan savings bank and a member of the “Diputacion”, or provincial council of the Barcelona city authority, soon becoming the body's chairman. He pursued a career in sports politics in dictator Francisco Franco's fascist Spain and won a place on the IOC in 1966. In 1967, Samaranch was appointed national delegate of physical education and sport, the equivalent of secretary of state for sport in Franco's administration. After Franco's death, he was appointed ambassador to the Soviet Union and the contacts he made there helped him succeed Lord Killanin as IOC president in 1980. His body will lie at rest in the chapel at the Catalan regional government palace for members of the public to pay their respects between 1000 and 1500 GMT Thursday. His coffin will then be carried on the shoulders of a group of athletes to the funeral at the nearby city cathedral. “He made the IOC strong, financially strong,” former committee vice president Lambis Nikolaou, who has been a member since 1986, told Reuters. “He planned its expansion and was responsible for this unprecedented growth of the movement,” he added. – ReutersFACTBOX Early life Born in Barcelona on July 17, 1920, Juan Antonio Samaranch pursued a career in sports politics in former dictator General Francisco Franco's fascist Spain. He was Spanish chef de mission at three Olympic Games before winning a place on the IOC in 1966. After Franco's death, Samaranch was appointed as ambassador to the Soviet Union where important contacts among third world sports officials helped him succeed Lord Killanin as IOC president in 1980. IOC President At the start of his presidency, he steered the Olympic movement through two successive political boycotts; a US-led western boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics followed by an eastern bloc retaliation in 1984 at Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Games were, however, a financial success and represented a clear break with the past with its focal sport of athletics now fully professional. The 1992 Barcelona Games, held in Samaranch's birthplace, were a stunning success with burgeoning interest from corporate sponsors and a huge increase in the cost of television rights. Doping and bribery At the 1988 Seoul Olympics the Ben Johnson drugs scandal broke when the Canadian sprinter tested positive after winning the 100 meters final. A subsequent Canadian government inquiry found evidence that doping was widespread in athletics. A series of high-profile drug busts prompted the IOC to call a special anti-doping conference in early 1999 and the establishment of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). In 1998 it was revealed that some IOC members had been bribed to award the 2002 Winter Games to Salt Lake City. WADA's first president Dick Pound said that Samaranch was never an enthusiastic supporter of the fight against drugs. Legacy In July 2001, after 21 years in the role, he was succeeded as IOC president by Jacques Rogge. Samaranch was made the IOC's honorary life president in 2001. His son Juan Antonio Jr. is a member of the IOC.
