Former IOC president improved finances
LONDON — Jacques Rogge, who oversaw an era of political and financial stability in the Olympic movement after its worst ethics scandal and pursued a hard line against doping during his 12 years as IOC president, has died, the Olympic organization said Sunday. He was 79.
The International Olympic Committee announced his death without giving details. Rogge’s health had visibly declined when he attended Olympic events since his presidency ended in 2013.
“First and foremost, Jacques loved sport and being with athletes — and he transmitted this passion to everyone who knew him,” Thomas Bach, Rogge’s successor as president, said in an IOC statement. “His joy in sport was infectious.”
Rogge, a former orthopedic surgeon from Belgium, guided the IOC through a period of relative calm and prosperity during a term that spanned three Summer Olympics and three Winter Games from 2001-13.
A three-time Olympian in sailing, Rogge earned praise for bringing a steady hand to the often turbulent world of Olympic politics but also faced outside criticism for not being tough enough on human rights issues with China and Russia.
He managed a steady growth in IOC revenues, even during the global economic crisis; made peace with the U.S. Olympic Committee after years of bitter squabbling over moneysharing; and — in what he considered his personal legacy — created the Youth Olympics.
Under Rogge’s watch, the IOC took the Olympics to new countries and continents — awarding the first Summer Games to South America (Rio de Janeiro in 2016) and the first Winter Games to Russia (Sochi 2014) and South Korea (Pyeongchang 2018).
“I hope that people, with time, will consider that I did a good job for the IOC,” the understated Rogge said in an interview with the Associated Press before stepping down in 2013. “That’s what you legitimately want to be remembered for.”
Rogge was elected the IOC’s eighth president in Moscow on July 16, 2001, defeating four other candidates to succeed Juan Antonio Samaranch, a Spaniard who ran the committee with an authoritarian and imperious style for 21 years. Rogge took office in the wake of the Salt Lake City corruption scandal, in which 10 IOC members resigned or were expelled for receiving scholarships, payments and lavish gifts during the Utah capital’s winning bid for the 2002 Winter Games.
Rogge spoke five languages, a big selling point in the multilingual IOC. His native tongue was Flemish or Dutch, but he also spoke French, English, Spanish and German.
Rogge presided over Summer Olympics in Athens (2004), Beijing (2008) and London (2012), and Winter Games in Salt Lake City (2002), Turin (2006) and Vancouver (2010).
Rogge said the darkest moment of his presidency was the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, who was killed in a highspeed training crash hours before the 2010 opening ceremony in Vancouver.
Rogge’s views were not always well received: He was criticized as being out of touch when he chided Usain Bolt for showboating in Beijing and questioned whether the Jamaican sprinter was a “living legend” in London.
Rogge came under fire from Jewish groups for refusing to allow a moment of silence at the London opening ceremony to remember the 11 Israeli team members killed by Palestinian gunmen at the 1972 Munich Games. He did take part in special commemorations for the Israelis outside of the ceremonies.
Seeking to contain the size and cost of the Olympics, Rogge instituted a cap of 10,500 athletes and 28 sports for the Summer Games. Still, there were about 11,000 athletes and 33 sports at the Tokyo Olympics that closed this month.
He struggled with the thorny issue of cutting and adding sports. Softball and baseball were removed from the program after 2008, while golf and rugby were included for 2016. Wrestling surprisingly was dropped for 2020 in 2012 but was given a second chance and won back its place a year later.
The IOC’s financial security strengthened under Rogge’s tenure. Revenues from global sponsors grew from $663 million in 200104 to nearly $1 billion for the four-year cycle through London. Television rights deals raised billions, including a $4.38 billion deal with NBC through the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The IOC’s reserves rose from $100 million to $900 million over 10 years.
Rogge is survived by his wife, Anne, and their two adult children.
Rogge was born on May 2, 1942 in Ghent, a medieval Flemish harbor city.