Thomas Bach Tribute to Baumann: "We are grateful for his great contribution"

A memorial service for International Olympic Committee (IOC) member and International Basketball Association (FIBA) General Secretary Patrick Baumann was held in Lausanne, Switzerland on Friday afternoon (November 2).

Mr Baumann died last month in Buenos Aires at the age of 51. He was attending the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), where Basketball 3×3 was being played for the third time, following its successes in Nanjing 2014 and Singapore 2010 YOGs.

Mr Baumann was one of the driving forces behind the inclusion of Basketball 3×3 into the Olympics and one of his greatest legacies will be the sport being part of the Tokyo 2020 programme.

IOC President Thomas Bach was among those to attend the service at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Lausanne.

In his speech at the memorial, Mr Bach said: "Let us remember that even in this time of mourning and sadness, we should also celebrate Patrick’s life. We are grateful for his great contribution to make the world a better place through sport. We are grateful that he was with us and we could call him a true friend. Let us celebrate the spirit of friendship and optimism because these are the values that Patrick personified. This is what Patrick wants us to do, and I know how much he will appreciate this celebration of the Olympic Values. Farewell, my dear friend Patrick."

A Swiss national, he was President of the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee.

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