New IOC President Breaks With Olympic Image
July 16, 2001--
MOSCOW (AP) _ Jacques Rogge wasted no time in showing how different his Olympic presidency will be.
The Belgian surgeon and Olympics sailor won a landslide victory Monday to succeed Juan Antonio Samaranch as president of the International Olympic Committee, and then acted swiftly to break with its scandal-scarred and elitist image.
Within hours of his election, Rogge said he wanted to stay in the athletes' village at next year's Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
"I think it's the best place to be in the Olympic Games," Rogge said at a news conference. "It's a wonderful atmosphere. I hope to be able to do that."
Rogge said he would meet with Salt Lake City organizing chief Mitt Romney to ask if there was room in the village dorms at the University of Utah. Romney quickly agreed to save space for Rogge.
"It's a wonderful gesture and symbol of his commitment to the athletes," he said. "We'll make the room."
IOC members and officials normally live in luxurious hotels at the Olympics, and Samaranch was renowned for staying in top-of-the-line suites with private elevator service and other perks.
Rogge's gesture underlined his intent to give the IOC a more down-to-earth image and hewed to his own unpretentious style and pristine reputation.
Rogge was elected in the second of four possible rounds of secret balloting to claim the most powerful post in international sports, becoming the eighth president in the IOC's 107-year history.
He defeated Kim Un-yong of South Korea, Dick Pound of Canada, Pal Schmitt of Hungary and Anita DeFrantz of the United States.
After DeFrantz was eliminated in the first round, Rogge received 59 votes _ three more than needed _ on the second ballot. Kim was second with 23 votes and Pound a close third with 22; Schmitt got six.
Rogge was elected to an eight-year term and can seek another four-year mandate.
His plan to stay in the athletes' village carried added significance because of Salt Lake City's association with the Olympics' biggest corruption scandal. Ten members resigned or were expelled for accepting cash, gifts, scholarships or other inducements from Salt Lake bidders.
IOC delegates said Rogge's victory underscored their determination to continue with the reform process enacted after the scandal.
"If ever anyone came in with a blameless character, it was Jacques Rogge. There are no skeletons in the Rogge cupboard," said British member Craig Reedie.
"It's very strong proof that the IOC wants reform and transparency," said Johann Olav Koss, Norway's former speedskating champion. "With the huge support he got, it's very clear he can have a strong voice for reform."
Rogge has stayed in the athletes' village eight times, three times as a competitor in sailing and five times as Belgium's team leader.
He's the first Olympian to serve as IOC president since Avery Brundage, an American who competed in track and field in Stockholm in 1912 and ran the IOC from 1952-72.
Rogge, the seventh president from Europe _ Brundage was the only non-European chief _ has vowed to step up the fight against drugs in sports and wants to downsize the Olympics.
An IOC member since 1991, he won praise for coordinating the highly successful Sydney Games last year and for help in righting a foundering effort to organize the 2004 Games in Athens.
"This guy is loaded with talent," NBC sports chief Dick Ebersol said.
The ceremonial transfer of power took place in Moscow's elegant Hall of Columns, where Samaranch was installed as president in 1980.
The low-key Rogge showed no emotion when Samaranch opened an envelope and read his name. He embraced Samaranch and gave an unscripted acceptance speech in English and French, two of his five languages.
While Samaranch insisted he was neutral in the election, he couldn't disguise his glee at Rogge's victory.
"This is a very important day in my life," Samaranch said. "It's been so long that I've been head of the IOC. It's a joy to have a credible successor."
Rogge officially takes over Friday in a ceremony at IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. He plans to quit his job as an orthopedic surgeon and live in Lausanne. He will receive no salary.
One of his first challenges will be to mend fences with Pound and Kim.
Pound, who negotiated the Olympics' lucrative TV and sponsorship deals, resigned as IOC marketing chief and chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency after the vote.
"It's a matter of common courtesy to an incoming president that you leave him with a free hand," Pound said. Rogge asked him to return, and Pound said he would reply later this summer.
Kim, long considered Rogge's main challenger, boycotted the ceremony, bitter over what he considered a last-minute smear campaign.
"It wasn't a race with fair play," said Kim, who spent most of the day in his hotel room.
"I respect very much both colleagues and am quite sure we will be able to work together in the future," Rogge said. "My job is to unite."
(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APTV 07-16-01 1615MDT
