Homage & Tribute to the Late Former IOC President Comte Jacques Rogge with 10 Episodes (直前 IOC위원장 Jacques Rogge 회고)

[Homage & Tribute to the Late Former IOC President Comte Jacques Rogge with 10 Episodes (直前 IOC위원장 Jacques Rogge 회고)]

 

8월31일 Thomas Bach IOC위원장에게 작고한 IOC명예위원장(제8대 IOC위원장) 유족과 IOC에 고인의 명복을 비는 개인메시지를 발송하였다.

 

아울러 故人 생전에 함께한 10가지 추억의 에피소드를 간추려 정리하여 보았다.

이 회고의 글과 사진을 고인의 영전에 봉헌한다.

 

“Dear IOC President Thomas Bach,

It saddened me a lot to hear that Comte Jacques Rogge, Former IOC President passed away so suddenly.

May I take this opportunity to express my heartfelt sympathy and condolences to his bereaved family including Mme. Anne Rogge.

At the same time, recollecting good memories with the late Jacques Rogge, former IOC President, I attach herewith some photos taken with him during his term of office as IOC President.

With condolences from the bottom of my heart,

 

Sincerely,

Prof. Rocky YOON Kang-Ro

President of International Sport Diplomacy Institute and

IOC Evaluation Commission Member of 2008 Olympics”

 

 

In retrospect, I would like to once again express my special thanks to the late Comte Jacques Rogge, former IOC president, without whose help it would not have been possible to attend the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and the 2005 Singapore IOC Session. I was respectively given an Accreditation as IOC President’s Special Guest (“Gi” Category)

 

In 2008 at the Beijing ANOC General Assembly, IOC President Jacques Rogge was kind enough to present to me the Korea’s first-ever ANOC Merit Award and plaque together with the late Mario Vazquez Rana, ANOC President and IOC EB Member.

 

 

(ANOC President Mario Vazquez Rana, myself, IOC President Jacques Rogge in 2008 Beijing)

 

The 10 Episode during his term of office with IOC President Jacques Rogge are as follows;

 

#Episode 1(Caffeine as Prohibited Substance):

 

In Sevilla, Spain in May 1998, the joint meeting between IOC EB and NOCs at the ANOC General Assembly held, customarily resumed without fail.

When I asked the question about the pertinence of then-prohibited substance Caffeine and caffeine-contained beverage(Coca-Cola) as TOP Marketing Partner, then-IOC President Samaranch seemed to be perplexed.

Dr. Jacques Rogge as IOC EB member at that time was asked by President Samaranch to answer my question. He clearly answered, “Unless otherwise injected, athletes will not be tested positive”.

I asked for the floor once again, “Then, what about ethical and moral relativity of contradictory Olympic Values between marketing and doping?”

Dr. Jacques Rogge replied. “I'm not in charge of marketing”. This was an exquisite answer. In 2002 one year after he was elected IOC President, I asked again about the clarification on my 6-year long question about caffeine issue at the joint meeting between IOC EB and NOCs during the ANOC General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur. His answer remained unchanged, “Unless otherwise injected, athletes will not be tested positive.”

 

#Episode 2(Caffeine vaporized from the IOC Prohibited Substance Doping List)

 

Sometime later after my 6-year long persistent intervention on caffeine issue, “Caffeine” which used to be on the category I of the IOC prohibited substance List suddenly disappeared from the Doping List.

That was how “Caffeine” was released from the bondage of the controversy related to doping issue. And that was how “Coca cola” survived as IOC TOP Marketing Partner. The credit should be given to Rocky YOON, as he was the one who raised this issue and made “Caffeine” eventually deleted from the doping list.

 

#Episode 3(New Olympic Motto Proposal “V.I.P. (More Vividly, Impressively, Precisely)”

 

After the joint meeting of IOC EB and NOCs at the 13th ANOC General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur, Mr. Michael Payne who served the Olympic Movement for a long time as IOC Marketing Director told me “You have a new record in the number of interventions.”

On the eve of the 13th Kuala Lumpur ANOC General Assembly, the welcome reception was given in honor of all delegates of 200 NOCs in the presence of IOC President Jacques Rogge, ANOC President Mario Vazquez Rana, IOC Members, IFs President, and other dignitaries. With the kind arrangement of Mr. Sieh Kok-Chi, Secretary General of Malaysian NOC, I was requested to sing a song as Asian representative on the stage to the music played by the live band. I sang “Besame mucho” in Spanish followed by another Korean folk song “Arirang”. Songs are common international languages. Everyone looked happy and amused.

At the joint meeting, I took the floor several times for questions to the IOC President. When I asked for the floor once again telling him “I am afraid I am talking too much today, but I would like to say one more thing”

IOC President Jacques Rogge was generous enough to give me another floor saying, “Rocky, if you promise to sing one more song, I will give you the floor.”

My last intervention in that meeting was that the current Olympic motto (Citius, Altius, Fortius; Faster, Higher, Stronger) would require fine-tuning as modern sports were evolved from 8 sports in the 1st Athens Games to 28 sports. I continued to explain to him, “If the current Olympic Motto is applied to shooting, Archery, Gymnastics (Balanced Beam), Figure skating, and many other sports, it does not fit well. Therefore, with your kind permission, I would like to make a suggestion on the new possible Olympic Motto.” He asked me, “What is your suggestion?” I told him, “My recommendation is V. I. P. “More Vividly, Impressively, Precisely”, and I hope that the IOC would study my suggestion.”

He smiled and said, “Rocky, if you promise not to demand your intellectual property rights, then IOC will positively consider it.”

Of course, it would not be so easy to replace the tradition-honored Olympic Motto used for more than 100 years. That is why I currently use it (V.I.P) as an official motto of the International Sports Diplomacy Institute(ISDI) that I established early spring in 2004.

Sport diplomacy is not simply limited to the lobbying activities aimed at bidding for the Olympic Games, IOC Session, International Sporting Events, or promoting elections for their own candidates as office bearers of the International Sporting Organizations.

 

#Episode 4(Special Guest of IOC President Jacques Rogge)

 

With the blessings of President Jacques Rogge, I was able to attend the 2004 Athens Olympics at his invitation as IOC Distinguished Guest with “Gi” category Accreditation staying in the IOC Hotel (Hilton). With due accreditation and access privileges including T3 transport services, I was given an opportunity to meet with many international sports leaders including IOC Members during the whole length of the Games period. I was also invited to the opening ceremony of the IOC Session. After the Session, reception was given for all sports leaders from around the world. It was like “World Sports Summit.”

I met with so many IOC members including Prof. Ung CHANG who is IOC member in DPR Korea and ITF President. In the middle of the reception, IOC President Jacques Rogge was seen to walk into the reception hall. I happened to be the first one to encounter him as I stood nearby entrance. I received him saying, “Mr. President, thank you most awfully for your kind invitation and for upgrading my accreditation.” then, he shook hands with me smiling “Rocky, you are always our friend.”

 

#Episode 5(Sport Museum Movement)

 

When I was graduated from the KOC as staffer (Deputy Secretary General). I established the International Sports Diplomacy Institute in Seoul, and opened a first-ever private Pyeongsan Sport Museum in in the outskirts of Seoul.

IOC President Jacques Rogge sent his message encouraging my activity to promote the Olympic Movement through sport museum movements saying, “You have my full support”.

Soon after I became Professor at large at Gwandong University, received an Honorary Doctor's Degree from the Mongolian National Olympic Academy, and attended the 2004 ANOC General Assembly held in Athens as Distinguished Guest of ANOC President. Many esteemed IOC members including IOC President Jacques Rogge and Honorary IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch congratulated me on my honors. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate my special thanks to all of them who encouraged me.

In 2005, I became Guest Professor at Renmin University of China together with Prof. Ung CHANG, IOC Member in DPR Korea and ITF President. The same faculty members now include Dr. C. K. WU, IOC Member / Chinese Taipei and AIBA President, and Mme. Anita DeFrantz, IOC Member in the U.S and Chairperson of IOC Women and Sport Commission as Guest Professors.

 

#Episode 6(Torino2006 Winter Games)

 

During the 2006 Torino Winter Games, Governor Jin-Sun KIM of Gangwon Province and myself were given an opportunity to meet with IOC President Jacques Rogge at his office at IOC Hotel. I told him about what I was doing, and tried to clarify some groundless stories about me which seemed to have been viciously fabricated and spread by one local sports related person at that time. After listening to me, he smiled and said, “You don't have to worry about it. There's no such rumors, and you are our friend.”

 

#Episode 7(Seoul2006 ANOC General Assembly and Kimchi)

 

Early in April 2006, the 115th ANOC General Assembly took place in Seoul together with IOC Executive Board and the 2006 Sport Accord Convention. Many other meetings related to the International Federations (GAISF, ASOIF, AIOWF, ARISF, etc.) were also held on the same occasion.

On the morning of 8 April, the last day of all those events, Comte Jacques Rogge, IOC President, walked along at the restaurant of the COEX International Hotel holding a dish full of “Kimchi” for his breakfast. I approached him and said “Kimchi is one of the 5 Best Human Health Foods, and has been positioned as an official food item in the Olympic Games menu for the past 20 plus years.” And I also congratulated him on his honor of receiving ‘Honorary 10th Dan’ (Grand master's degree) of Taekwondo by Dr. Jung-won CHOUE, President of World Taekwondo Federation (WIF) one day before.

IOC President Jacques Rogge said to me, “Thank you, my friend”, smiling and shaking hands with me. I also bid farewell to President Rogge and his wife (Annie) who enjoyed their last breakfast in Seoul before departure, saying to then “Bon Apetit et Bon Voyage.”

 

#Episode 8(Olympic Bid and Continental Rotation)

 

As far as the Olympic Games bidding is concerned, “the principle of Continental Rotation” was always a much-talked-about subject in the international sports circle.

However, IOC President Jacques Rogge's views always remain unchanged saying, “If a bid is strong enough, the idea of rotating the Games between continents will not come into play.”

Yes. I agree with him. If the principle of continental rotation is applied to the selection of host city at every edition of the Olympic Games, the IOC should set the rule of accepting the applications of candidatures only from the rotated continent. It would, then, overturn the flow and the basis of the Olympic movement.

However, this rotation principle might influence the psychology of the IOC members on a case-by-case basis when electing the host city of the Games which would never be the IOC rule, though.

 

#Episode 9(IOC Membership Quota)

 

Since the election of Dr. Jacques Rogge as IOC President in 2001, the first co-option of new IOC members took place at 113th IOC Session in 2002 prior to the Salt Lake City Winter Games.

 

7 New IOC members were co-opted:

  -Yong-Sung PARK (Korea / IJF President)

  -Youssoupha NDIAYE (Senegal)

  -Patrick S. CHAMUNDA (Zambia)

  -Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad AL-THANI (Qatar)

  -Nawaf Faisal Fahd ADDUL AZIZ (Saudi Arabia)

  -Kai HOLM (Denmark)

  -Pernilla WIBERG (Sweden / Athlete)

 

In accordance with the IOC Reform program, the IOC membership quota is limited to 115 members (70 Individual members, 15 IFs capacity 15 NOCs capacity, and 15 Athletes capacity). That's why the new IOC President Jacques Rogge decided to stop increasing new IOC membership on 2003-2005 period considering that it would be difficult to be on maximum number of 115 due to many existing IOC members whose mandates were still effective until they reach 80 years old (for those co-opted before the year 1999).

As no additional IOC membership was co-opted for 3 consecutive years (2003-2005), questions were raised about “why not” at the Press Conference of the IOC Session.

IOC President Jacques Rogge answered saying, “I would like to quote the expression used by former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch.” And he quoted it saying, “The bus is full. If nobody gets out, nobody gets in.”

At the time of the 118th Torino IOC Session in 2006, 5 new IOC members were co-opted thanks to 5 out-going IOC members who reached the age limit of 80.

The guidelines by IOC President Jacques Rogge in relation to co-option of new IOC members are brief, clear, and transparent. Any candidate for new IOC membership is subject to screening of related document based on regulations by the IOC Nominations Commission (Chairman: Mr. Francisco Elizalde / IOC member in Philippines).

For those who passed the document-screening, final candidates selection standard and criteria are also supposed to be applied:

 

1. Selected candidates by IOC Nominations Commission preferably come from countries where there are no incumbent IOC members.

2. Top priority is given to women-candidates in order to reach 20% occupancy by women in the IOC

3. Continental balance is to be considered.

 

#Episode 10(Characteristics of IOC President Jacques Rogge)

 

IOC President Jacques Rogge is an accurate, transparent, and competent CEO of the entire Olympic Movement.

As he used to be orthopedic surgeon, he never tends to be distracted, nor confused, nor bewildered, nor overwhelmed by any groundless rumors or biased opinions from outside when making judgement and decisions. He is a clean-cut world sports leader.

”Mr.Clean” became his “Trade mark” with “Zero Tolerance on Corruption and Doping” policy in the Olympic Movement.

There is always a flaw even in a precious stone, and there is also a fly in the ointment.

We have a Korean saying, “Not many fish come along in the too-clean and too-transparent water” (A man with no faults is not so easy to get along with)

Nevertheless, I respect him as a true leader of the Olympic Movement with a clear vision and clean concept.

IOC President is often referred to as “Pope” of the sport world. The position of IOC President would only be made available with the blessings from GOD in the Heaven.

He is an exemplary role-model as IOC President for the entire Olympic Family members in this present mixed-up world.

 

Once again, I pay homage to the late Comte Jacques Rogge, former IOC President for all his dedication and contribution as World Sport President. “Rest in Peace!”