Former International Olympic Committee, IOC, President, Jacques Rogge, has died at the age of 79.
Rogge served as the IOC’s eighth president from 2001 to 2013 and went on to become the organisation’s honorary president.
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IOC President Thomas Bach described his late predecessor as an accomplished, passionate sports administrator, who loved to be around athletes.
Bach said the late Rogge will be remembered for championing youth sport and inaugurating the Youth Olympic Games.
Bach also spoke on the deceased’s zero tolerance for doping, noting that the entire Olympic movement will deeply mourn the loss of a great friend and a passionate fan of the sport.”
Rogge, a former orthopedic surgeon, represented the Belgian national team in rugby and was a 16-time Belgian national champion and a world champion in sailing.
He competed in sailing at three Olympics, in 1968, 1972, and 1976, in the Finn class.
He went on to become president of the Belgian and European Olympic committees, before being elected IOC president and served as a Special Envoy For Youth, Refugees, and Sport to the United Nations, after his IOC presidency.
The IOC said it would fly the Olympic flag at half-mast at Olympic House, at the Olympic Museum, and all its other properties for five days, as a mark of respect for Rogge, with a public memorial to be held later in the year.
Rogge is survived by his wife Anne, his son, daughter, and two grandchildren.
(Editor: Ifeanyi Mark)
