ITF pays tribute to former IOC President Jacques Rogge
The International Tennis Federation has joined the chorus of tributes paid to former IOC President Jacques Rogge, who has sadly passed away at the age of 79.
Rogge spent 12 years as IOC President from 2001, having been an accomplished sportsman himself and someone who represented his nation, Belgium, as a sailor in the Finn class at three Olympic Games.
His sporting prowess went further and prior to showcasing his mastery of sailing to the watching world, he was a 16-time Belgian rugby champion and a one-time yachting world champion.
A love for rugby was just one factor which saw Rogge and Kelly Fairweather bond, with the former acting as something of a mentor to the now-Chief Operating Officer at the ITF.
“I first got to know Jacques when he was the Chairman of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games Coordination Commission and I was a young manager who had joined the IOC,” said Fairweather.
“I then had the pleasure of working for him when he became the President of the IOC as his Director of Sport. He was a man of the highest integrity, with a real passion for sport and an understanding of the important role that athletes play in the Olympic Movement.
“With Jacques being a former rugby international and me being South African, we shared many good moments watching and talking rugby.
“It is a really sad day for the Olympic Movement and, personally, I am very grateful for the opportunity he gave me and the mentorship he provided. May he rest in peace with the knowledge that he left the Olympic Movement in a much better place.”
Rogge, who was born in Ghent in 1942 during the Nazi occupation of Belgium, obtained a degree in sports medicine and qualified as an orthopaedic surgeon.
He served as President of the Belgian Olympic Committee from 1989 to 1992 and President of the European Olympic Committees from 1989 until 2001. He became a member of the IOC in 1991 and joined its executive board in 1998.
Rogge went on to serve as the eighth IOC President, succeeding Juan Antonio Samaranch, who had led the IOC since 1980, in July 2001 and fulfilled the roles and responsibilities of this lofty position with distinction until 2013.
Among his many accomplishments, Rogge was a staunch champion of youth sport and he will be forever remembered for inaugurating the Youth Olympic Games, with the first summer version of the event held in Singapore in 2010.
Tennis has been a significant beneficiary of the Youth Olympic Games, with a host of future stars being afforded the opportunity to showcase their talent on the Olympic stage while still a junior, gaining valuable experience in the process.
Rogge’s commitment to tennis development was also evident when he visited the ITF Training Centre in Burundi in September 2011, where he met players who were to be recommended by the ITF for support through the Olympic Scholarship Programme.
All at the ITF are deeply saddened by the news of Roggie’s passing, but retain huge appreciation of his many achievements and gratitude for his close working relationships with International Sports Federations which served to strengthen the Olympic movement.
Rest in peace.