By Kennedy D’Silva
Juan Antonio Samaranch Torelló, (July 17, 1920 – April 21, 2010) was the most popular Spanish sports official who served as the seventh President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1980 to 2001 and was later elected as IOC Honorary Life President in 2001.

Samaranch passed away at the age of 89 on Wednesday April 21, 2010 at the Quiron Hospital in Barcelona due to cardio respiratory arrest.
Samaranch well known as a reserved but shrewd dealmaker headed IOC for 21 years from 1980-2001. He was the second longest serving President in the IOC history. Only Pierre de Coubertin “father of modern Olympics” served longer than Samaranch who served the IOC as President for 29 years from 1896-1925. He was considered one of the defining presidents for building the IOC into a powerful global organisation and firmly establishing the Olympics as a world force.
The present IOC President Jacques Rogge paid fitting tribute to Samaranch and expressed grief over his death. Rogge said that he is personally saddened by Samaranch’s death, he who inspired him and built the Olympic games of modern era. He added that entire Olympic family deeply mourned the loss of their visionary.
Like no other he had modernised the Olympic Games. “He was widely credited with renewing and fundamentally changing the landscape of the Olympic Movement” says the IOC in a press release which continues: “Soon after his election, Samaranch worked towards the abolition of amateurism at the Olympic Games. Despite two boycotts in Moscow in 1980 and in Los Angeles in 1984, Samaranch managed to maintain the quality of the Games and increase the number of participating countries. He was the man behind improving the financial health of the Olympic Movement, developing TV rights and sponsorship negotiations and strengthening Olympic Solidarity, the organ by which the IOC redistributes its revenue in order to ensure the training and participation of athletes at the Olympic Games. A hugely energetic man, he was responsible for the new IOC headquarters building in Vidy and for inaugurating the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.
He will also be remembered for championing the representation of women in the IOC, overseeing the entry of the first women members in the 1980s. He was likewise responsible for setting up the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and for involving the athletes themselves in the decision-making of the IOC by creating the IOC Athletes’ Commission”.
“I cannot find the words to express the distress of the Olympic family. 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. We have lost a great man, a mentor and a friend who dedicated his long and fulfilled life to Olympism” stated IOC President Dr Jacques Rogge.
Samaranch who was awarded the honorary presidency of IOC for life revolutionised the Olympic movement by seeking global sponsors and not relying on local arrangements made by national federations for sponsorship and broadcasting deals of major events.
Samaranch who looked shy but had extraordinary vision acquired the post of president in the times when IOC was virtually bankrupt and marred with the boycotts, terrorism and financial troubles. But when, he retired IOC coffers were filled with billions of dollars. It was only due to his talent and persuasive skills that IOC acquired financial stability and it became “World’s favourite Sports Festival”. His consummate skills made him the architect of Unified Olympic Movement.
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 commercialisation, a boom in growth and popularity of the games, the scourge of doping, and the Salt Lake crisis.
Samaranch’s image took a dent in the year 1999 when he became the part of Salt Lake City Scandal when he asked the members to raise their hands on a proposal involving ban of member’s visits to bid cities instead of customary secret ballot voting. Samaranch who brought the 1992 Olympics to home town of Barcelona and even in retirement, 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.