IOC Member Peter Tallberg, 77

(ATR) Elected in 1976, Peter Tallberg was the second longest serving IOC member.

The Finnish former IOC Athletes Commission chair died of cancer on Saturday. He chaired the commission from its inception in 1981 until 2002, after which he served as an honorary member.

He was part of the IOC Coordination Commissions for three Summer Olympics: Barcelona 1992, Athens 2004 and London 2012. Tallberg also spent four years on the WADA Council and was a member of the World Olympians Association from 2007 to 2014.

"As the founding chairman of the Athletes’ Commission, Peter was my first teacher at the IOC," IOC president Thomas Bach said. "‘He worked all his life for sport and for protecting the clean athletes. The athletes of the world and all those who love sport owe him a huge debt and he has left a lasting legacy for the Olympic Movement for which we can all be grateful."

Bach called Tallberg "a great man" and said the Olympic flag at IOC headquarters in Lausanne will be flown at half-mast for three days as a mark of respect.

In 2011, Tallberg spoke of the importance of the first meeting of what became the IOC Athletes Commission at the 1981 Olympic Congress in Baden-Baden. There were 38 athletes, eight of whom were women, present.

"They understood the importance of this role and immediately realized that this was the moment for them to show what an important new and vital partner of the Congress they formed," said Tallberg. "The newspapers applauded [IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch]’s visionary decision to include the athletes within the Olympic family as full members."

One of Tallberg’s last acts in the Olympic movement came in December on behalf of the Helsinki bid to host the 2017 IOC Session. Though Tallberg was in poor health and could not travel to Monaco for the most recent IOC Session, he lobbied his colleagues for their vote via a handwritten letter.

The World Olympians Association paid tribute and sent its deepest condolences to Tallberg’s family. He had served as the WOA liaison to the IOC Athletes’ Commission from 2007-2014.

"For me, Peter Tallberg is and will remain a pillar of the Olympic ideal and dream," saidWOA president Joël Bouzou.

"Peter always looked further than sport, always thinking about what sport and great athletes could bring to society. This is why he attended many editions of the International Peace and Sport Forum.

Bouzou said that Tallberg had encouraged him to run for the WOA presidency.

"He was convinced that the organization could benefit not only Olympians, but the whole of society through the work of Olympians. He was therefore very happy with the current reforms of the WOA.

"Having been the liaison between the WOA and the IOC Athletes Committee from 2007 to 2014, Peter will be sadly missed by all Olympians but he will remain in all our hearts forever."

A five-time Olympic sailor, Tallberg at various times presided over the International Yacht Racing Union (a precursor to the International Sailing Federation), the Finnish Yachting Association and the Scandinavian Yacht Racing Union.

In addition to sailing at five Olympics - Rome 1960, Tokyo 1964, Mexico City 1968, Munich 1972 and Moscow 1980 - Tallberg was a Finnish junior champion in slalom in 1954. He also enjoyed squash, table tennis and golf.

Written by Nick Devlin

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