Putting the Athletes First

When I was in grad school, one of my first assignments for my Sport Leadership class was to write a paper about a sports executive and give examples of their leadership style.  I chose then-IOC President Jacques Rogge and subheaded it "Putting the Athletes First."  Which is exactly what he did during his 12-year tenure as IOC boss.

Rogge, who passed away over the weekend, took over the IOC at a very tenuous time.  After 20 years of Juan Antonio Samaranch's iron-fisted leadership and the Salt Lake bribery scandal, it was clear that it was time for a change.  That's exactly what they got.  Because Rogge was, in many ways, the polar opposite of Samaranch.

For starters, he was a former Olympian, competing for Belgium in sailing at three Games (1968, 1972, 1976).  His successor, Thomas Bach, is also a former Olympian, but they're just the second and third Olympic athletes to later serve as President of the IOC.  Rogge had been in the athletes's shoes and understood their perspective.  More importantly, it was important to him.

You could tell that right from the get-go.  His first Olympics as IOC President was the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.  Those Olympics had been plagued by the bribery scandal that led to sweeping changes in the organization, including Samarach's retirement.  Then, during the Games, there was another scandal regarding the judging in the pairs figure skating competition.  The Russians beat the Canadians, who most experts agreed were clearly superior, for the gold medal, only for the French judge to admit the next day that she had been pressured to vote for the Russians.  Rogge acted swiftly, throwing out the French judge's scores and awarding the Canadians an unprecedented second gold medal.

During the Games, he didn't stay in a swanky five-star hotel.  He stayed in the Olympic Village.  And ate in the dining hall, where he could talk to the athletes directly and listen to their concerns.  It should be no surprise, then, that the IOC Athletes' Commission is one of his lasting legacies. 

The Athletes' Commission had existed since 1981, but now, instead of being appointed, its members would be chosen in a direct election by the Olympians themselves.  And they'd be full IOC members, with the Chair serving on the IOC Executive Board.  Simply put, the athletes--the people who actually compete in the Olympics--have a greater voice in the Olympic movement than ever before.  That was Jacques Rogge's doing.

One thing about Jacques Rogge that I always remembered was his interview with Bob Costas during the Athens Games.  At one point Bob asked him, "What should I call you?  President Rogge?  Doctor Rogge?"  (He was also an orthopedic surgeon.)  His answer: "Call me Jack."  In Torino, Beijing, Vancouver and London, he didn't even ask.  He just called him "Jack."

I don't know why that stands out so much to me.  I think it's because it speaks to Rogge's personality.  Yes, he was President of the IOC, a very important and stressful job.  But he was also a down-to-earth guy you could talk to.  Quite the contrast from Samaranch.

His leadership style was also vastly different than Samaranch's.  Under Samaranch, the Olympics had grown to ridiculous and unsustainable proportions.  Rogge made them less expensive, capped the number of athletes and increased opportunities for women.  (He got it to a 60-40 split.  In Paris, it'll be 50-50 for the first time.)  He made cities want to host the Olympics again, marked by that incredible election in 2005 that saw five major world cities (London, Paris, Madrid, New York and Moscow) vying to host the 2012 Games.  It's only fitting that those London Games, his last as IOC President, were one of the best ever!

Another big part of his legacy is the Youth Olympics.  Those were his baby.  The Youth Olympics are for athletes ages 14-18, some of whom may be competing internationally for the first time (and some of whom may become stars of the regular Olympics very soon thereafter).  They've also become a testing ground of sorts for different sports and events.  Some of the newer additions to the Olympic program are a direct result of their success and popularity at the Youth Olympics.

Say what you will about the Youth Olympics, but they have achieved another major purpose.  They've brought the Olympic brand to cities and countries that aren't big enough to host the main event.  The three Summer Youth Olympics have been in Singapore; Nanjing, China and Buenos Aires, and the next edition in 2026 (postponed from next year) will be held in Dakar, Senegal, the first Olympic competition ever held in Africa.

There were, of course, some misses, too, which you'd expect from someone who held a leadership position for 12 years.  It was under Rogge that baseball and softball were voted out of the Olympics in 2005.  And in 2013, just before his tenure as President was set to expire, wrestling was voted out...only to be reinstated at the next IOC Session later that year.

He wasn't really able to do much about doping, either.  Granted, doping was a problem at the Olympics long before Jacques Rogge's Presidency and continued to be well after.  But the number of athletes who've been stripped of medals years after the fact because of banned substances in stored samples is absolutely ridiculous!  It's great that they're testing and catching the cheats, but the sheer number shows how big the problem was.  And I've never been a big fan of changing the results so long after the fact.  It's great that the new medalists eventually get their recognition, but there are athletes who originally finished like seventh in London who are now bronze medalists!  So you're telling me that five athletes who were allowed to compete were actually doping!  How is that possible!?

So, was Jacques Rogge's IOC Presidency perfect?  Definitely not.  No presidency is.  But, was it consequential?  Absolutely!  He was the leader the IOC needed at the time.  A former athlete who understood that change was necessary and wasn't afraid to make it, while also being relatable to the most important people in the Olympic Movement--the athletes.