体坛英语资讯：Former IOC chief Samaranch dies at 89, Rogge pays tribute

Former International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch died in a hospital here on Wednesday at 89.

Samaranch was admitted to the Quiron Hospital in Barcelona on Sunday after experiencing heart trouble. The hospital said he died at 1:25 p.m. (1125 GMT).

"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."

His body will be taken to the Palau de la Generalitat in Barcelona so that well wishers can pay their last respects on Thursday. IOC president Jacques Rogge will be among the dignitaries attending a special ceremony there.

File photo taken on July 13, 2001 shows Juan Antonio Samaranch, former president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), announcing that Beijing, capital of China, won the right to host the 2008 Olympics during a meeting in Moscow, Russia. Juan Antonio Samaranch died at the age of 89 on April 21, 2010 in Barcelona after suffering from severe heart attack.

Samaranch, who was IOC chief between 1980-2001, is the man many believe is responsible for the Olympic Games as we know them today.

One of his last public appearances was on March 4 this year when was awarded Hispano-Chinese Foundation prize for his time as President of the Hispano-Chinese Forum, which he had led since November 2001.

IOC President Jacques Rogge hailed Samaranch's contribution to the Olympic movement, describing him as "a great man, a mentor and a friend who dedicated his long and fulfilled life to Olympism."

The IOC said in a statement in its official website that Samaranch was widely credited with renewing and fundamentally changing the landscape of the Olympic Movement.

"I cannot find the words to express the distress of the Olympic Family," said Rogge. "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."

Rogge added, "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.”

Born in Barcelona in 1920, Samaranch pursued a career as diplomat and sports administrator before leading the IOC for 21 years from 1980 to 2001.

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.

One of his biggest achievements soon after he took office was to help China return to the Olympic family. He thus became a friend of the Chinese people.

Yu Zaiqing, vice president of the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC), paid tribute to Samaranch, naming him "an old friend of the Chinese people."

Yu said in a statement, "Samaranch is an old friend of the Chinese people. He had always hoped that China could host an Olympic Games. And his wish was finally realized in 2008. The Chinese people thank him."

He Zhenliang, the Honorary President of the COC and one of China's most famous sports figures, was deeply saddened by the death of Samaranch, whom he worked with for 20 years since he was elected to the IOC in 1981.

"The Olympic Movement lost a great leader, China lost a close friend and I lost a very close friend and an old brother," said the 80-year-old He, a former IOC vice president.

And awarding the 2008 Olympics to Beijing was widely regarded as one of Samaranch's final legacies at the end of his Olympic reign in 2001.

"Samaranch has made great efforts to help China regain the positions in IOC and other international sports organizations. He also made great efforts to support China to have a bigger say in the international sports arena," He said.

"We can never forget President Samaranch's help in Beijing's successful bid and the exceptional success of the 2008 Olympic Games. When the preparations for the Beijing Olympics was disturbed by some political factors, he always firmly stood behind us," He told Xinhua in a telephone interview.

One of his last public appearances was on March 4 this year when was awarded Hispano-Chinese Foundation prize for his time as President of the Hispano-Chinese Forum, which he had led since November 2001.

Samaranch 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.

The IOC said in the statement that Samaranch was responsible for the new IOC headquarters building in Vidy and for inaugurating The Olympic Museum in Lausanne. He also championed 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.

A diplomat, Samaranch started his career as Municipal Councillor responsible for sport in the City of Barcelona. He then took on the role of National Delegate for Physical Education and Sport before becoming President of the Barcelona Diputacion. He was appointed Spanish Ambassador to the former Soviet Union and the People's Republic of Mongolia from 1977 to 1980.

Before his election as IOC President in Moscow in 1980, Samaranch had a long career in sports administration. He was a member and subsequently President of the Spanish National Olympic Committee from 1967 to 1970; President of the Spanish Skating Federation; and Chef de Mission at the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956, in Rome in 1960 and in Tokyo in 1964. He was himself a keen rink hockey player.

The Spaniard, who was made honorary life president of the IOC on his retirement, has suffered from health problems since stepping down.

In September 2001 he spent 11 days in hospital with fatigue, while towards the end of last year he was admitted to intensive care in Monaco with difficulty breathing.