President Jacques Rogge

President Jacques Rogge was a gentleman and a statesman. A kind, warm, unassuming, compassionate, and respectful person. He seemed completely unaffected by his position, which was one thing that always stood out to me about him.

He was Chairman of the Coordination Commission for Sydney 2000, showing himself as astute, professional and friendly with staff, and the Australian press. It was spoken about by the media then that if the Sydney Games were a success, he would be the front runner to take over from President Samaranch as the next IOC President.

He always met me with a big smile and a ‘how are you Anthony,’ like he was genuinely happy to see you when we crossed paths in IOC headquarters or elsewhere. I will always remember that about him. He was very keen on rugby, having represented Belgium, so this was a common topic of conversation, and we both played the same position in the back row. He knew well the Australian rugby greats of our era such as Mark and Gary Ella, Simon Poidavan, Steve Williams and David Campsie. I remember mentioning to him a couple of times, jokingly, why I thought rugby sevens was perfect for the Olympics: “Can you imagine, a small Pacific Island country like Fiji one day winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games.” He would have been happy with the result in Rio.

One of my fondest memories was a trip in 2007 we did with President Rogge and Gilbert Felli to Belgrade, Serbia to observe the European Youth Olympic Games. We were walking from meetings to a venue and Gilbert asked me to explain to the President the idea of a Young Reporters Programme we could run to coincide with the new IOC Youth Olympic Games. President Rogge agreed with it on the spot, and three years later we held the inaugural IOC Young Reporters programme at the 1st Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. The rest is history. The Young Reporters has been one of the great programmes implemented by the IOC.

There were numerous meetings in the President’s office at the Chateau in Lausanne, with Mr Felli, to brief the President on the forthcoming Radio and Television Commission, which the President chose to chair, or the Press Commission which was chaired by Kevan Gosper. The President was just as kind and attentive behind closed doors. I never once saw him raise his voice. He did not need people holding his hand, no pandering. This is where you saw the doctor in him, brief and to the point on the key issues that will or may be raised.

The President and Mrs Rogge were always together. Inseparable. They were both keen observers and great supporters of modern art and artists. In early 2004 the President asked me to coordinate with Andreas Gursky, the famous German art photographer, for him to photograph the Athens Opening Ceremony. Gursky was well known to ATHOC President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, a great collector of contemporary art, who had appointed the avant guarde visual artist Dimitris Papaioannou as creative director for what was the most beautiful Opening Ceremony. The President had a similar request from the contemporary American artists and film maker Sarah Morris for Beijing. Gursky’s photo of the Calatrava designed Olympic Stadium filled with glistening water and Morris’ film ‘Beijing’ are both on display at the Olympic Museum.

Mrs Rogge pictorially documented the President’s career, which most did not know, always photographing him in a candid way, but with a creative purpose. I mentioned to them several times that it will make an extraordinary book, one day.

He was a great man and a great leader. It was an honour to serve him. His memory and legacy will live on.

The above is a personal tribute only