THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL BIATHLON ...

obituary nachrufJuan AntonioSamaranchThe Olympic Movement has lost one of its most important and most influentialarchitects with the passing of Juan Antonio Samaranch. As theIOC President Samaranch also had a great influence on the developmentof biathlon and the newly founded International Biathlon Union.Juan Antonio Samaranch was born on 17 July 1920 inBarcelona, Spain. He was the third of six children from arelatively wealthy Catalan family. On December 1, 1955,he married Maria Teresa Salisachs Rowe, who died in2000. They had two children, Juan Antonio Junior, currentlya member of the IOC, and Maria Teresa.Elected as IOC President by the 83rd IOC Session onJuly 16, 1980, Samaranch practically started a renovationof the IOC. He fought against doping and racial discriminationwhile opening the Olympic Games for all thebest athletes including professionals and supported theparticipation of women both on the field of play and insports administration. On July 16, 2001, he handed overthe IOC presidency to Jacques Rogge and became HonoraryPresident.IBU President Anders Besseberg said of Samaranch,“He was a real fan of biathlon and followed it very closely.He has done a lot for the sport and we are very sadto have lost such an outstanding, well-respected sportspersonality.”Samaranch played a crucial role for the InternationalBiathlon Union during the process of the separationfrom the Modern Pentathlon Federation UIPMB in the1990s. Though he foresaw the challenges, Mr. Samaranchassisted the IBU in its endeavour to become independentand helped to keep biathlon in the Olympicprogram with an enormous personal effort. He also wasof great assistance in adding women’s biathlon to theOlympic program as well as adding the Pursuit and MassStart as medal events. For his help and friendship towardbiathlon Samaranch was made an Honorary Memberof IBU. •108 biathlonworld The official Magazine of the IBU 20 I 2010