[ATR] IOC 실사보고서 관련 후보도시별 유치위원장 인터뷰

 - 2018평창 조양호 / 2018안시 카타리나 비트, 슈방크 / 2018안시 샤를 베그베데

<2018평창 : 조양호 유치위원장 실사보고서 결과에 “매우 만족”>

- 조양호 위원장, “IOC는 우리 비드북 내용에 대한 확신을 나타냈고 아시아 동계스포츠 확산 및 시장 확대라는 우리의 키 메시지 ‘New Horizons도 잘 전달됐다”

- 하지만 평창이 선두주자라는 말은 사양하며 “모든 후보도시가 자격을 갖추고 있으며 노력하고 있다”며 평창도 마지막 순간까지 열심히 할 것이라고 다짐

- 평창의 가장 큰 강점으로 꼽힌 높은 주민지지도에 대해서는 “한국 국민들은 1988 서울올림픽의 긍정적 효과를 모두 기억하고 있기 때문”이라고 설명

- IOC 보고서가 지적한 중봉 경기장으로의 교통 접근 등에 대해 “우리 기술자들의 능력을 믿는다”며 “마지막까지 IOC와 협의해 진행할 것”이라고 설명

<2018뮌헨 : 선두 평창을 넘을 자신 있어>

- 카타리나 비트, 선두로 꼽히는 평창을 넘을 수 있다고 “매우 낙관”한다고 말해

- “순위를 매기기 어렵다. 마지막 순간까지 경쟁이고 우리는 마지막 순간까지 최선을 다 할 것”

- 보고서가 “선수들에 의한 선수들을 위한” 뮌헨의 계획과 교통, 지속가능성 등을 칭찬한 점 주목

- 지적된 우려들에 대해서는 “우리가 더 좋은 모습으로 개선될 수 있는 부분이라 생각”한다고 반응

- 슈방크 유치위원장, 문제가 된 부지확보에 대해서는 곧 타결될 수 있다고 “매우 자신한다” 말해

- 60%에 그친 찬성 여론조사 결과에 대해서는 조사가 실시된 12월 이후 많은 지지율 상승이 있었다고 설명했고 실제로 지난 주말 주민투표 결과도 찬성으로 나와

<2018안시 : 후발주자 안시는 IOC 우려를 뛰어넘어 “기뻐">

- 베그베데 유치위원장, IOC의 일부 우려 지적에도 불구하고 실사보고서가 안시가 최근 이룬 “큰 진전”을 인정한 점을 “아주 기쁘게” 생각한다고 밝혀

- 안시를 뮌헨, 평창과 마찬가지로 대회를 개최할 수 있는 “수준 높은 비드”라고 칭찬한 점에 만족

- “보고서는 순위를 만드는 것이 아니라 각 비드의 약점을 지적하는 것이기 때문에 보고서 내용을 근거로 순위를 매기는 것은 옳지 않아”

- IOC는 주로 안시 계획에 포함된 네 개 경기지역과 선수촌, 미디어 숙박시설 간 이동시간에 대해 우려 표명

- 이에 대해 “산속 마을에서 대회를 계획하는 유일한 비드인 점이 이동시간에 영향을 미쳤을 것”이라면서 “하지만 선수들의 편의를 고려해 80%는 경기장 10분 이내에 머물 수 있도록 했다”고 강조

- 51%의 찬성 여론조사에 대해서는 “안시 비드에 매우 불행한 시점에 이루어졌다”며 “안시 주민 다수가 비드를 찬성하고 연초보다 지지율이 올랐다. 그리고 각급 정부와 민간 부문의 전적인 지지를 받고 있다”고 설명

- 분산된 숙박계획에 대한 IOC의 우려와 관련해서는 “우리는 큰 호텔을 원하지 않는다. 소규모 호텔 활용을 제안했고, 사람들이 그걸 더 좋아할 것이라 생각한다”며 오히려 장점이 될 수 있다고 대응

PyeongChang Chairman "Very Delighted" with IOC Report

5/10/2011

Yang Ho Cho during the IOC Evaluation Commission visit to PyeongChang. (ATR)

(ATR) The head of PyeongChang’s bid for the 2018 Olympics tells Around the Rings he is “very delighted” about the IOC Evaluation Commission report, released earlier today.

“The IOC has confidence in our bid books and they have received our message of ‘New Horizons’ which means expanded winter sports market in Asia, and expand the winter sports for young people in Asia” Cho said.

“This is our key message”.

While Cho was pleased with the IOC’s reaction, he declined to say if PyeongChang is the front-runner for 2018.

“All the teams are very qualified and they are working hard” he said, adding that PyeongChang will have to work until July 6, when the IOC decides which of the three cities bidding will stage the 2018 Olympics.

One of the strongest points for the bid involved nearly unanimous public support for PyeongChang 2018. According to the report, 92 percent of Koreans back the bid.

Cho claims that strong public support is a benefit of hosting the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

“After our legacy of 88 Summer Olympics, we know the impact of all Koreans. So all the Koreans understand we need to honor another moment.”

The IOC did highlight a few concerns with PyeongChang’s proposal, among them spectator capacity at some venues.

The IOC wrote that at alpine speed and

Construction on the road to Jungbong in Nov. 2010. (ATR)

technical venues “it might prove difficult to achieve the spectator capacities presented in the Candidature File due to transport access constraints and, as a result, PyeongChang 2018 decided to lower spectator capacities from 18,000 to 12,000 for both of these venues”.


The IOC expressed concern about transport to alpine speed events to be held at Jungbong, a hamlet 25 minutes from PyeongChang. At the slalom venue, spectators take a shuttle bus up a narrow and winding road to get to the grandstand.

“We have confidence in our architecture and engineers” Cho said in regard to the IOC’s concerns with venue access and seating.

“We are going to consult with the IOC for the final evaluation.”

The three bid cities will head to Lausanne for a bid city technical meeting with the IOC on May 18 and 19. Cho said the high-level team from PyeongChang will include him, Theresa Rah, director of communications for the bid; governmental representatives, and Y.S. Park, president of the Korean Olympic Committee.

With only about nine weeks left in the bid, Cho said not to expect many surprises from the bid.

“We have to do according to our bid books. We are confident in our bid books, they are very qualified and meet IOC standards. I don’t think there will be any surprises.”

Written by Ed Hula III.

Munich Confident of Toppling Front-Runner PyeongChang

5/10/2011

Munich 2018 chair Katarina Witt. (ATR)

(ATR) Munich 2018 chair Katarina Witt says she is "very optimistic" the German bid can beat favorite PyeongChang in the race to land the Winter Games.

"It is difficult to say who is first, second and third. I think it is an open race until the very last second," she told reporters in a conference call Tuesday.

"We will give our best until the end. Every day and every week we have to show the advantages [of the bid]," she added.
Her comments came after the publication of the IOC 2018 Evaluation Commission's report today that appeared to give the Korean bid the edge over Munich and Annecy.

But Munich leaders were in good cheer after the IOC gave mostly positive remarks about the bid across a number of areas.

"They have really addressed our strengths for an athlete-friendly Games," Witt said, noting the Olympic bid plan has been assembled "by athletes for athletes" and good points about the transport system and sustainability in the report.

IOC concerns focused on high hotel room rates for some client groups and Munich's inability to so far acquire one parcel of land at the Kandahar Alpine center.

"If there are criticisms here or there, we see it as something we can just do better," Witt said.

Bid CEO Bernhard Schwank said Munich was still in negotiation with landowners to secure the piece of land but "very confident" of reaching a deal soon. Asked if an agreement would be struck by the time of the IOC's bid cities briefing in Lausanne May 18 and 19, he said: "We will see."

According to the IOC's evaluation report, Munich public opinion poll numbers show just 60 percent support with 15 percent opposed.

Munich bid leaders noted that these figures were recorded in

December and public support has been rising ever since. The backing of residents in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Sunday following a referendum has certainly boosted the bid.

Witt said that the staging of sold-out world cups and world championships in Munich and Garmisch this year was a better barometer of public support. Schwank said Munich's independent polling in recent months revealed 75 percent of the German public now backed the campaign.
 
Looking ahead to next week's presentation to the IOC membership in Lausanne, Witt said she hoped the 45-minute pitch followed by a Q&A with members would "really bring out the strengths of the bid".

Written by Mark Bisson

Outsider Annecy "Happy" to Prove IOC Wrong

5/10/2011

(ATR) Despite a few IOC concerns, Annecy CEO Charles Beigbeder tells Around the Rings he's "quite happy" the 2018 Evaluation Commission has recognized the bid's "enormous progress" in recent months.

Bid CEO Charles Beigbeder. (ATR)

Speaking to ATR after a press conference in Paris, Beigbeder said he was pleased the IOC had qualified Annecy as an "extremely high-level bid" that was capable of staging the Games. The IOC said the same of its rivals Munich and PyeongChang.

He said that the technical evaluation review now allowed the IOC membership to choose between the bids what they wanted to bring to the Olympic Family "at this point in time".

"It is wrong to rank the three bids on the basis of the report, because the report does not rank the bids, it just mentions some weaknesses," he told ATR.

Beigbeder responded positively to the bid's three weaknesses - journey times between venues, low public support and accommodation.

The main IOC criticism centered on the complexity of travel times between the French bid's four venue zones and four Olympic villages for the different client groups including media. Under the bid, there are more than 200 media accommodation facilities spread around the Annecy region.

"We are the only bid trying to organize in a mountain city and that is reflected in the journey times," he said.

"However, we are focusing on the comfort of athletes and on that basis by locating 80 percent of athletes within 10 minutes of their competition venues that is what counts."

Chamonix, Annecy's venue for slalom skiing. (ATR)

He added: "We will try to demonstrate that the journey times are very reasonable and are in line with what could be expected of this type of event."

Responding to the December poll cited in the report that puts public support for Annecy at just 51 percent, Beigbeder said: "That was done at a very, very bad moment for us.

"The majority of Annecy people are in favor of the bid. We are confident that since the beginning of the year we have more support. We have the total support of the government, municipalities and the private sector."

The spread of accommodations in the Annecy bid also drew concerns from the IOC. About 25,500 guaranteed rooms are located in 533 accommodation facilities in France and Geneva.

Beigbeder defended the plan, saying the accommodations could be regarded as a strength of the bid.

"We don't have big hotels, we didn't want that. We have proposed smaller hotels, that is what we think people will like," he said.

Written by Mark Bisson

우크라이나의 2022 동계올림픽 비드 계획 확정

-팬아르메니아 통신사, 우크라이나의 빅토르 야누코비치 대통령이 지난 수요일 2022 동계올림픽 유치를 위한 우크라이나의 비드를 제출했다고 보도하였다.

- 또 다른 보도에 따르면 2022 동계올림픽 운영을 위한 각종 시설물 건축에 최소 15억불 이상이 소요될 것으로 추산하고 있다.

- 세르게이 부브카 우크라이나 올림픽위원회 위원장은 2013년 IOC가 유치신청을 공고하는 2013년 이후에나 2022 동계올림픽 비드를 제출할 수 있다고 설명해왔다.

- 2022 동계올림픽 개최지는 7년 전인 2015년에 선정될 예정이다.

It's Official - Ukraine Submits Bid For 2022 Winter Olympics

Panarmenian reports that Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych confirmed Wednesday Ukraine has submitted a bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

According to gazeta.ru the construction of gymnasiums, stadiums ,and other facilities for the 2022 Winter Games should cost at least $1.5 billion U.S.

Ukrainian Olympic Committee chairman Sergey Bubka has said that Ukraine couldn't submit a bid for the 2022 Games until 2013, after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announces the tender.

The winner of the 2022 Winter Games will be elected in 2015.

2018뮌헨, 가르미쉬-파르텐키르헨 주민투표 결과 찬성의견 우세

- 2018뮌헨 동계올림픽 유치 비드 관련 가르미쉬-파르텐키르헨에서 5월 8일 치러진 주민투표 결과 유치 찬성 쪽에 우세하게 판결이 났다.

- 투표결과를 발표하는 국제 기자회견에서 DOSB 위원장 토마스 바흐는 “가르미쉬-파르텐키르헨의 다수는 진정으로 2018 동계올림픽 유치와 개최를 찬성하고 있다. 자신감은 있었지만, 확신을 가질 수 있게 된 오늘은 2018뮌헨 유치위에 기쁜 날이다. 이번의 민주적인 결정을 모든 사람들이 받아들여야 한다. 밴쿠버 시민들도 IOC EC 며칠 전에 이루어진 주민투표에서 64%의 찬성 의견을 나타냈고 그 몇 달 후 2010 동계올림픽 개최지로 결국 선정되었다.”고 말했다.

- 투표에는 전체 유권자의 59.6%가 참여 (20,918명)하였다.

- 유치 찬성단체 ‘올림피야’가 제청한 질문, 가르미쉬-파르텐키르헨에서 2018 동계올림픽 실시를 찬성하는지 여부에 대해서는 투표자의 58.1%가 그렇다고 답했음 (찬성 6,853 / 반대 4,944 / 무효 674)

- 유치 반대단체 ‘놀림피아’가 제청한 질문, 동계올림픽을 위해 체결된 계약들의 재검토 여부에 대해서는 49.9%만 찬성해 재검토는 부결되었다. (찬성5,526 / 반대 5,657 / 무효 1,293)

- 두 가지 질문에 대해 서로 상반된 결과가 나올 경우에만 적용되는 세 번째 질문, 가르미쉬-파르텐키르헨에서의 올림픽 개최에 대한 찬성/반대 여부, 결국 필요 없게 되었지만 집계 결과 54.9%가 개최 찬성, 45.1%가 개최 반대로 나타났다.

Munich 2018 Claims Victory in Garmisch-Partenkirchen Referendum

Two separate petitions regarding the Munich 2018 Olympic bid faced a critical referendum today in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the German Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach claimed victory on both.

"A majority of Garmisch-Partenkirchen is really in favour of getting and staging the Games in 2018," Bach said during an international press conference announcing the results.

"It is a good day for Munich 2018, because where we had confidence, we now have certainty too. This democratic decision should now be accepted by everyone. The people of Vancouver voted in favour of the Winter Games with a 64% majority in a referendum a couple of days before their Evaluation Commission visit. A few months later, they were elected to host the 2010 Winter Games."

An OlympiJa petition, asking voters whether they favoured the Olympic in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 2018 passed with 58.1% of the vote after 59.6% of the electorate weighed in. The OlympiJa organization is in strong support of Munich 2018.

A separate petition by NOlympia, a group that opposes the staging of the Games, asked voters if they agree with the contracts signed to facilitate the Games. That question yielded a much closer result but was ultimately rejected with 49.4% of the vote.

A third ballot was also cast that would only be considered if the previous two votes were split, it asked whether the voter was for or against the Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Though not valid, the results were released and they indicated that 54.9% were in favour of the Games; 45.1% opposed.

This referendum was considered a critical hurdle for the bid and these results should be sufficient for the IOC to be comfortable should they elect Munich to host the 2018 Games.

On Tuesday the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will release an evaluation report based on the site inspections and bid books submitted by the bid cities. Munich is competing with PyeongChang in South Korea and Annecy in France - the final decision will be made July 6 in Durban, South Africa.

Later this month the three bids will present their plans to IOC members in Lausanne and the Munich team is sure to highlight the success of the referendum, stressing that any doubt is now in the past.

21 April 2010 was a gloomy day for the entire Olympic Movement.

It was an "earthquake and tsunami" to the world sport.

Icelandic volcano heralded such a bitter sorrow to the whole world.

Even the sky mourned the loss of the Olympic God Father.

Who said “April is the cruelest month.”?

Sadly enough President Samaranch passed away just less than 3 months shy of his 90^th birthday last year.

He was born in Barcelona on 17 July in 1920.

He was elected IOC member in 1966.

He was elected IOC President in 1980.

He was elected Honorary IOC President in 2001.

He was the second longest serving IOC President (for 21 years) in the history of the Olympic Movement.

He skillfully protected the Games from the boycott.

He wholeheartedly contributed to the success of each and every edition of the Games including the 1988 Seoul Olympics in the midst of epidemic boycott syndrome.

He became the first recipient of the Seoul Peace Prize created in 1989 after the Seoul Games.

He is the record holder in terms of the number of visits to the host city of the Games.

He paid visits over 35 times to Seoul alone during the period leading up to the Games.

 

(With Juan Antonio Samaranch, Jr., IOC member in Spain)

Throughout my 29-year long period (25 years services at the Korean NOC) in the Olympic Movement, I was deeply inspired by his initiatives toward the Olympic Revolution, even including his typical voice, accents and his own vocabularies.

                            (IOC Evaluation Commission Members/2008 in Toronto)

During travels and visits of the bid cities as part of the IOC Evaluation Commission for the 2008 Olympics, I used to make verbal assessments on daily works of our whole team by imitating his voice and accents mostly on the evenings over cocktails.

That offered some amount of fun to most of our team members chaired by Mr. Hein Verbruggen.

(IOC Evaluation team 2008/ Sergey Bubka/ IOC Member in Ukraine, Hein Verbruggen/Chairman, Carlos Nuzman/IOC Member in Brazil and Rocky Yoon/Istanbul 2001)

The late President Samaranch was my role model and hero and mentor.

He was a man of practicality.

It was President Samaranch that demanded the IOC Evaluation Commission to practically draft the final report to specifically serve the purpose for the IOC members.

It was his thoughtfulness and insightfulness that 2-page (A4 size) long condensed report by the IOC Evaluation Commission would be good enough to provide the IOC members with essential details and judging elements for balloting.

 (IOC Evaluation Team/2008 in Beijing)

 

Based on my personal experiences, let me summarize his character as follows:

1)    He was meticulous.

2)    He was fine and delicate.

3)    He was elaborate.

4)    He was accurate.

5)    He was careful and cautious.

6)    He was exquisite.

7)    He was moderate.

8)    He was intelligent.

9)    He was clever.

10)   He was wise.

11)   He was smart.

12)    He was knowledgeable.

13)    He was well-informed.

14)    He was diplomatic.

15)    He was politically skillful and sensitive.

16)    He was punctual.

17)   He had a perfect sense of timing.

18)   He was under perfect control of health care, trying to be in good shape at all times.

19)   He was always thoroughly prepared.

20)   He was calculative and precise.

21)   He was cool-headed.

22)   He was calm and discreet.

23)   He was realistic.

24)   He was shrewd and prudent.

25)    He was charismatic.

26)    He was totally responsibility-minded.

27)    He was erudite.

28)   He was honor-oriented.

29)    He was faithful to duty and friendship.

30)    He was warm-hearted.

                       (With the late President Samaranch at the reception in Barcelona 1991)

Let me epitomize his deeds and achievements as IOC President which include but not limited to the following:

1)    He abolished the term of ‘Amateurism’ at the Olympic Games.

2)    He introduced ‘Commercialism’ and ‘Professionalism’ into the Olympic Games on a balanced level.

3)    He improved the financial health of the Olympic Movement (IOC, IFs and NOCs) by developing TV rights and sponsorship known as ‘Top Partnership” and revenue-sharing mechanism.

4)    He strengthened Olympic Solidarity, and created the organ named the “Olympic Solidarity” through which the IOC redistributes its revenue which enables the NOCs to train and participate their athletes in the Olympic Games.(100% participation by the 205 NOCs)

5)    He effectively and efficiently integrated the global sport-related organizations :

-GAISF/AGFIS (105 Olympic and Non-Olympic international sports federations) <now newly branded as SportAccord>

-ASOIF (28 summer Olympic sports international federations)

-AIOWF (7 winter Olympic sports international federations)

-ARISF (multi-number of non-Olympic international federations)

    6) He played a leading role in representing the women in the IOC in terms of entry of the first woman members on the 1980s.

    7) He increased the percentage (20%) of women participation in the decision-making body of the Olympic Movement.

    8) He increased the number of disciplines for women in the Olympic program sports.

    9) He was instrumental in setting up the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

    10) He was the founder of OlympAfrica Foundation.

    10) He paved the way for athletes to get involved in the decision-making of the IOC by creating the IOC Athletes’ Commission.

    11) He moved forward to include Chairman of the IOC Athletes’ Commission as a member of the IOC Executive Board.

    12) He was responsible for the new IOC headquarters building in Chateau de Vidy by renovating and restructuring its function and role as a supreme global sport-governing body.

    13) He pioneered the establishment of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

    14) He took the lead in fund-raising for the construction of the Olympic Museum.

  (Seh-Jik Park, SLOOC President, delivering donation for Olympic Museum construction to Mr. Berthold Beitz IOC Vice President, IOC President Samaranch/Lausanne 1986)

    15) He was entrusted as the first Chairman of the Olympic Museum, thus contributing to the advancement of the Olympic Movement.

    16) He ironed out 30 years of reforms in six months for which the IOC approved a 50-point reform action-plan drafted in the aftermath of the Salt Lake City scandal.

    17) He brought in diversity and dynamism within the organization by co-opting people from all global social strata as IOC members, running the gamut from athletes and women through sport administrators, coaches, judges to the film director, business people, ministers and many others in addition to royal family members, princes, princesses, dukes, etc.

    18) He institutionalized the Olympics by introducing cultural events and educational programs, thereby culminating the Olympic values of excellence, fair play, and respect.

    19) He terminated the boycott from the Olympic Movement.

    20) He reached around the world, embracing Messrs. Mario Vazquez Rana of Mexico/ ANOC President, Joao Havelange of Brazil/ FIFA President and Primo Nebiolo of Italy/IAAF & FISU President to establish a formidable and unbeatable power base in the world of sport.

    21) He began the fight against doping, thus paving the way to create the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

    22) He accelerated the initiatives of the Olympic Truce.

    23) He achieved the separate participation of China and Chinese Taipei in the Olympic Games.

    24) He made South Africa return to the Olympics after apartheid was dismantled.

    25) He put the stepping stone to reunification of South and North Koreas by arranging the joint marching of two Korean delegations,  hand-in-hand, at the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

   26) He saw the reunification of East Germany and West Germany partly because of the successful organization of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games jointly by the IOC and the SLOOC.

   27) He witnessed the joint marching of 12-nation CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States: Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tadzhikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan) under the 12 national flags in front at the opening ceremonies of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

       Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 3 independent nations from Yugoslavia, Estonia, South Africa in 32 years and North Korea in 12 years also took part in the Games held in hometown of President Samaranch.

   28) He reluctantly saw his tenure was unfortunately tarnished by Salt Lake City Bid scandal through which 10 IOC members either resigned or were expelled in the late 1990s.

   29) He suggested that summer and winter Olympics would have to be separately held at two-year intervals for marketing and TV rights -friendly reasons. 1994 Lillehammer/winter and 1996 Atlanta/summer was his first such Olympics package.

   30) He realized the idea of sending the official invitation to the NOCs for the Olympics not by the OCOG but by the IOC for the first time in history from the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

   (Official Invitation-sending ceremony by the IOC for 1988 Seoul Olympics: Seh-Jik Park, SLOOC President, President Samaranch, Chong-Ha Kim, KOC President, Dr. Un-Yong Kim, IOC Member in Korea/1987 Lausanne)

31) He was the first recipient of the Seoul Peace Prize created in 1989.

Considering all his achievements and contributions, he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize even now.

I sincerely hope that the entire Olympic Movement would confer posthumous honors of “Nobel Peace Prize” on him.

In summary, let me humbly define our respected President Samaranch as under:

1)    He was a great sport leader.

2)    He was an outstanding businessman.

3)    He was a formidable sport organizer and orchestrator.

4)    He was an unprecedented IOC President.

5)    He was a perfect presider of meetings and conferences.

6)    He was a bona-fide philatelist and collector.

                                                                                (Annie Inchauspe, President Samaranch, Rocky Yoon/109th IOC Session Seoul    1999)

7)    He was an operation architect with an eye for beauty.

8)    He was a renowned banker (at Caixa).

9)    He was a consummate fund-raiser.(Olympic Museum)

10)  He was an all-round planner and multi-player.

11)  He was an impeccable diplomat.

12)  He was a pacifist.

13)  He was a quiet negotiator with consummate skills.

14)  He was a master in consulting people before taking a decision.

15)  He was a creator of consensus by shrewd persuasion and debate.

16)  He was a trouble-shooter, problem-settler, and trouble-solving leader.`

17) He was an industrious person.

18) He was a life-time sport practicer.

19)   He was a multi-lingual.

20)   He was a world traveler visiting a record-number of countries. (all 205 IOC member-NOCs/Nations?)

21)   He was a man (Jack) of all trades.

22)   He was a great human-being.

23)   He was a good husband, good father and good grandfather.

24)   He was a man of “Unity” and “Olympic Solidarity”.

25)  He was and will be remembered as an Olympic God Father.

26)  He was a man of foresight and courage.

27)  He was a founder of new paradigm of modern Olympics.

28)  He was the savior of the Olympic Movement.

29)  He was a visionary and thoughtful leader.

30)  He was a towering figure in the world of sport.

31)  He was an immortal Olympic man.

32)  He was the first recipient of the Seoul Peace Prize.

33)  He was my Olympic teacher, mentor, and guide post.

(The last photo with the late President Samaranch)

I still vividly remember my questions to President Samaranch at the joint meeting with IOC Executive Board and NOCs during the ANOC General Assemblies of  1996 Cancun, 1998 Seville, 2000 Rio de Janeiro about a couple of issues. Now he is gone, but I seem to hear his typical resounding voice. His words are still ringing in my ears.

As a chief-organizer of the 109^th IOC Session in Seoul 1999 under the chairmanship of Dr. Un-Yong Kim, then-KOC President and IOC Vice President, I worked with Mme. Francoise Zweifel, IOC Secretary General, for its successful organization under the outstanding leadership of S.E.M. Juan Antonio Samaranch, IOC President.

                                                                                                            (Dr. Un-Yong Kim, KOC President and IOC VP, Samaranch, Rocky Yoon)

In 2000-2001, I had the honor and privileges of working after being nominated by President Samaranch as one of the members of his last IOC Evaluation Commission for the 2008 Olympics(under the chairmanship of Mr. Hein Verbruggen) during his last-period of tenure as IOC President(2001).

During spring time in 2007, I paid a visit to meet with President Samaranch at his office in Barcelona as Secretary General of the 2014 PyeongChang OWG Bid Committee to pay respect to him while also seeking for his valued advice in general. That became my last personal interview and meeting with him as my Olympic God Father and Respected Teacher in the Olympic Movement.

During the interview, I felt his inward power as master of sport diplomat.

I was inspired and impressed by his profound affection in sport and the Olympic Movement.

I still vividly remember his face full of grace and his way of talking full of affinity for sport.

It was my first time to feel that he was so warmheartedly sentimental.

I was greatly fascinated by his seriousness, thoughtfulness, and profundity as my respected senior in the Olympic movement.

Holding my hands so warmly to pose for a photo was his last teaching on how to properly shake hands for a nice protocol photo.

“Parting was such a sweet sorrow…” I left him behind until we met together in Guatemala for the IOC Session in July 2007.

“Ah, he now departed us forever, but we did not send him away …”

                                                                                          (Incarnation of the late President Samaranch: "Olympic Solidarity")

 I would like to once again dedicate my first-ever English book on sport diplomacy titled “When Sport meets the World over Five Rings” to his departed spirit.

Nearly for 30 years in the Olympic Movement, I served him, respected him, and used to translate his speeches and dialogue during his visits to Korea over 35 times all along.

I express my deepest sympathy and condolences.

May he rest in peace in heaven!

And may God bless him forever!

Yours very sincerely,

Rocky Kang-Ro YOON

 (Roh, Tae-Woo/SLOOC President & President of Republic of Korea, the late Jong-Kyu Park, IOC Member in Korea, the late Young-Ho Lee, Sports Minister &  SLOOC Executive President/ Seoul 1985)

                  (The late President Samaranch's first visit to KOC 1983: Anti-clockwise//Jip Kim, Se-Won Kim, the late Sang-Ho Cho,  the late Ju-Yung Chung/KOC President <not seen in the photo>Rocky Yoon, Samaranch, Tae-Woo Roh, Young-Ho Lee, the late Sheikh Fahad, Sharad Chandra Shah)