In the late seventies, the Olympic movement was on the verge of collapse. It was unprofitable for the host country to host the Games, and big cities were not eager to spend huge amounts of money on sporting events. However, at the most critical moment, Juan Antonio Samaranch stood at the head of the International Olympic Committee. A supporter of the fascist dictator, a world hockey champion, a possible KGB agent, a marquis - the life story of this man seems to be written off from the pages of an adventure novel
Stormy youth
Samaranch Juan Antonio was born in 1920 in Barcelona to a we althy family of textile industrialists. The future head of the Olympic movement has been friends with sports since childhood and played hockey with great success.
But, of course, not ice hockey, but a variation of it, where players instead of skates drive around the court on roller skates.
The beginning of the biography of Juan Samaranch coincided with the tragic and bloody pages in the life of Spain. In the thirtiesyears, a civil war broke out in the country, and soon the 18-year-old hockey player was drafted into the Republican army. Juan Antonio Samaranch did not accept this invitation and fled to France. There he decided that the ideas of the dictator Franco were closer to him, and after a short time he returned to his homeland, joining the phalanx of the sinister general.
The Republic came to an end, with the strong military support of Germany, General Franco crushed the resistance, and Samaranch Juan Antonio decided to take up his education and entered the Barcelona business school.
Sports exploits
The native of Barcelona was a very versatile person who successfully combined several activities. Samaranch Juan Antonio did not leave roller hockey, and also worked as a journalist in the sports newspaper La Prensa. An ardent fan of FC Barcelona, he could not ignore the resounding loss of his favorite team to Real Madrid with a score of 11:2. On the pages of his newspaper, Samaranch spoke out with fierce criticism of the Madrid club, for which he was immediately fired.
Having ended his career as a sports journalist, he plunged headlong into the family business and achieved great success in the textile business.
However, Juan did not completely break with the sport. He continued to actively play hockey, and after the end of his active career he became a coach. It was with Samaranch that the Spanish national team for the first time in history managed to win the world title, beating the invincible Portuguese in 1951. The Pyrenees subsequently became the strongest in the world 15 more times.planet, and it was the future head of the IOC who stood at the origins of these victories.
Politician and sports official
The restless Spaniard did not limit himself to exploits in the arenas and decided to try his hand at managing sports at the highest level. From 1955 to 1962 Samaranch Juan Antonio served as curator of the Barcelona Municipal Council for Sports. Not without success, he also participated in political life throughout Spain. For ten consecutive years, Samaranch sat in the lower house of the country's parliament. In 1966, he was appointed chairman of the National Olympic Committee.
However, everything comes to an end, and in 1977, General Franco dies, whose longtime supporter was a native of Barcelona.
Democracy was restored in the country, and former supporters of the dictator began to be expelled from the political life of the state. Samaranch Juan Antonio did not escape this fate.
He was appointed ambassador of Spain to the USSR, which practically meant exile from the country. Only after Franco's death did Spain restore diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, and Juan Antonio Samaranch had a hard and thankless job of establishing relations with former enemies. However, he brilliantly coped with his work and during the three years of diplomatic work he won many Russian friends and acquired a wide circle of acquaintances. This even gave reason to claim to numerous enemies of the Spaniard that he was recruited into the KGB during his diplomatic work in Moscow.
Climbing to the top of Olympus
Despite all the troubles at home, Samaranch Juan Antonio continued to enjoy great authority in the IOC. In 1974, he became vice-president of the International Olympic Committee and was considered one of the most respected sports officials.
Samaranch's diplomatic work has also borne fruit. At the next session of the IOC in Moscow, shortly before the start of the Olympics, he was elected to the post of president of this organization, ahead of Willy Daum from Germany. The Spaniard was elected largely thanks to the support of the USSR, which provided him with the votes of countries from the socialist camp.
Reformer
Samaranch inherited a difficult legacy from previous leadership. The IOC was in serious financial difficulty, the Games were unprofitable, and the international Olympic movement was on the brink of collapse.
However, a skilled businessman has made a real revolution in the world sports organization. He made the IOC financially autonomous, managed to sell television rights to broadcast the Games, and made proposals to expand the Olympic program of competitions.
This has led to the Olympics becoming successful economic projects that have brought profit to both the host country and the IOC.
Thanks to Samaranch, the spectators were finally able to see world football stars at the Olympics when the conflict between the IOC and FIFA was resolved in 1988, and many famous players were able to take part in the Games in Seoul. It was during the era of Samaranch that the US basketball team came to the basketball tournament,composed not of students, but of NBA players.
What is paradoxical, many ill-wishers blame Samaranch precisely for his merits, accusing him of excessively commercializing the Games and killing the Olympic spirit. Nevertheless, the legendary sports figure performed his difficult duties with dignity until 2001, after which he resigned, remaining honorary chairman of the IOC for life.
Family
In 1955, the politician and businessman married Maria Theresa Salizaks.
During the long years of marriage, he became the father of two children. Samaranch Juan Antonio Jr. followed in his father's footsteps and became a prominent sports official. He is a member of the National and International Olympic Committees, as well as Vice-President of the International Pentathlon Sport Federation.
The title of Juan Antonio Samaranch is a marquis, but for the world Olympic movement he became a real emperor.
