Adios, Juan Antonio Samaranch

Yesterday morning, while awaiting a flight from Maui to Oahu, an email arrived from a colleague who noted the passing of Juan Antonio Samaranch, the former International Olympic Committee president. Sad news -- first read the initial headlines, then today's New York Times obituary for more details.

Samaranch is one Olympic V.I.P. who I always wanted to meet but never did. Probably the closest opportunity was in the Atlanta Olympic Village (we heard he was visiting, but we were not able to get to the area of Samaranch's arrival).

I first learned of J.A.S. during the late 1980s and early 1990s via a couple of TV documentaries regarding the I.O.C. Also, Peter Ueberroth's book on the 1984 Games delves into great detail about Samaranch, which established in my mind that the Spanish-born Olympic leader was a hero for the Olympic Movement for his willingness to take risks.

The day that changed my life and the lives of tens of thousands came in the fall of 1990, when Samaranch's accent proclaimed "AT-Lan-Tah" the host of the Centennial Games.

Inspired by the Barcelona Olympics of 1992, and some research of the Olympic bid process for the 2000 Sydney Games, in 1993 I wrote a letter to Samaranch at the IOC address, and to my surprise and delight, several weeks later, a response arrived in the form of a personalized J.A.S. business card and I.O.C. pin, which remain proudly displayed on my home office shelves.

It's been disappointing, thought not entirely surprising, to find few media reports about Samaranch that really delve into the vast ranch of influence and progress Samaranch helped bring to the Olympic Family. It will be interesting to see what becomes of Samaranch's Olympic collections (I understand his Olympic philately efforts were unsurpassed) and how the I.O.C. will honor and memorialize Samaranch in the near and distant future.

Photo via this blog

πετρος Ueberroth in the News

I just learned the name Peter comes from the Greek word, πετρος (petros) or "stone" or "rock."

Its a fitting name for Peter Ueberroth, who was born the same day as modern Olympic founder Pierre de Frédy -- Baron de Coubertin died (handing off the torch?).

Ueberroth was in the news today -- the New York Times to be precise -- as his tenure in an official leadership role at the U.S. Olympic Committee may soon come to a close. He's used to headlines, methinks (being Time magazine's "Man of the Year" in 1984 and all), through staging one of the most successful Olympiads in history at Los Angeles.

Mr. Ueberroth is one of the good guys. He was also kind to an awkward 15 year old in Oklahoma City when I approached him requesting an autograph in my copy of "Made In America: His Own Story" (Ueberroth's autobiography of how they pulled off the Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad). He was about to go on stage to speak to a packed house of potential sponsors for OKC's U.S. Olympic Festival '89 (it was 22 June 1988), so my timing could not have been worse, but he was very polite and answered all of my silly questions before personalizing that book (if located at home I'll eventually scan it and add to this post).

Those few moments were a big inspiration for me. Ueberroth's remarks to me, and on stage that night, helped solidify some of my Olympic aspirations, in the short term leading me to double my volunteer time at the U.S. Olympic Festival (more on that in future posts), and in the long run serving as a reminder of 'what the Olympics is all about' when some efforts to get involved with the Games have hit a snag.

I've had other opportunities to speak briefly with Ueberroth since then -- once in 1996 (during the ACOG days for Atlanta), again in 2004 and just a few weeks ago at USA House in China. He was consistently cordial, just as he was in 1989. Rock solid Olympic values. It's too bad things have to wind down for his involvement with the U.S.O.C. (though not entirely a surprise as he is now 71).