Olympics President's Wife Dies Suddenly

S Y D N E Y, Australia, Sept. 16, 2000 -- The wife of International OlympicCommittee President Juan Antonio Samaranch died today inBarcelona, the state news agency in Spain reported.

No details were immediately available. Maria TeresaSalisachs-Rowe, 67, reportedly had been suffering from cancer.

Samaranch left Sydney early Saturday (Friday evening ET) to bewith his wife in Barcelona, just hours after presiding at theopening of his final Olympics as IOC president. However, she died before he arrived home.

IOC First Vice President Dick Pound of Canada assumed the roleof president in Samaranch’s absence.

Pound, who will chair the daily joint meetings of the IOCexecutive board and Sydney organizing committee, said it would bebusiness as usual.

“We’re just all helping out the boss as best we can. Hisobjective is the organization should continue to run as if he werehere,” he told The Associated Press.

Before he left, Pound said, Samaranch had planned to be back inSydney by the end of next week.

Anita DeFrantz of the United States, who will become the IOC first vicepresident at the close of the games, said: “He’ll be in touch.He’ll know what’s going on. He’s put in place the way things oughtto run. We’ll do our best to fulfill his wishes.”

IOC officials said Mrs. Samaranch suffered a rapid deteriorationin her condition and was rushed to the hospital.

“She’s gravely ill,” Kevan Gosper, an IOC vice president fromAustralia, and one of Samaranch’s closest friends, said before thereport of her death.

“I thought he was courageous and demonstrated his commitment bycoming to Sydney.”

‘His Feelings Lie With His Wife’

The Sydney Games are Samaranch’s last Olympics as president ofthe IOC. The 80-year-old Spaniard is to step down next July after21 years in office.

Samaranch and his wife have two children, Maria Teresa and JuanAntonio.

It’s not the first time Samaranch has left during the Olympics.In 1994, he left the Winter Games in Lillehammer to pay a briefvisit to Sarajevo, the 1984 Winter Games site then in the midst ofwar.

But an extended absence during the games is extremely rare foran IOC president.

The second IOC president, Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin, did notattend the 1904 St. Louis Olympics. Those games had been moved outof Chicago and were spread out over 4½ months, lost in the chaosof the world’s fair.

Samaranch announced his departure from Sydney at the end ofa IOC-SOCOG meeting. He left immediately for theairport accompanied by Gosper, friend and adviser Fekrou Kidane,and Mario Vazquez Rana, the Mexican media magnate who runs theworld’s national Olympic committees.

Rana provided his private corporate jet for Samaranch to fly toSpain.

“He embraced us before he went up the stairs of the plane andsaid he intends to come back as soon as he can,” Gosper said. “Iwould think that is a minimum of a week. He wants to be back toclose the games. But he’s in an uncertain environment.”

Samaranch revealed his wife’s illness on Wednesday when heannounced that she would not be coming to Sydney. He invitedAustralian swimming legend Dawn Fraser to be his guest at Friday’sopening ceremony.

“It’s very sad because it’s his last Olympics as IOCpresident,” Fraser said. “[At this time, though,] his feelings lie with his wife. … ”

Australian Prime Minster John Howard offered his best wishes.

“I’m so sorry to hear it,” he told reporters. “I knew thathis wife was very ill. He had hoped that her condition would notdeteriorate so that he had to go home.”