The IOC mourns the loss of former director general Francois Carrard

Tributes continue to come in for former International Olympic Committee (IOC) Francois Carrard who passed away at the age of 83.

No cause of death was named, but Carrard had suffered from poor health recently.

IOC president Thomas Bach said in a statement, “Francois Carrard was a brilliant man with immense analytic skills and a very wide horizon. He was always a great guide and trustful advisor, and became a personal friend.”

Carrard served as the IOC’s director general from 1989 to 2003 and guided the IOC through seven versions of the Olympic Games beginning with Albertville 1992 through Salt Lake City 2002.

He would continue to advise the IOC until his final days, while also heading a legal firm in Lausanne, Switzerland, the home of the IOC.

Dick Pound, the longest serving member of the IOC and a former vice-president, recalled Carrard fondly.

“He was a man for all seasons and nothing was beyond his capacity,” Pound told Around the Rings. “Whatever needed to be done was done, discretely, competently and with style. Sport was only part of his enormous range and he was a trusted adviser to an incredible range of clients, friends and organizations.”

Michael Payne spent 17 years with the IOC, and was their former head of the marketing division. He also expressed similar thoughts on Carrard to Around the Rings.

“Francois, as the Director General under Juan Antonio Samaranch, helped transform the IOC in ways few people fully understand. He has great strategic thinking and was calm under incredible pressure like during the 1996 Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta. Everyone loved him and everyone sought his wise counsel.”

KEEP READING