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Athens was weeks from losing Games: Samaranch
Athens was weeks away from losing the Olympics because of massive delays in preparations, former IOC chief Juan Antonio Samaranch said on Friday.
Athens was weeks away from losing the Olympics because of massive delays in preparations, former International Olympic Committee chief Juan Antonio Samaranch said in an interview on Friday.
Samaranch, the then IOC president, issued a warning in 2000 urging organisers to speed up work or risk losing the Games.
He said his yellow card warning was almost a red card "which means it is not possible to organise the Games".
"This yellow card was very near to a red card," he said.
Asked how near the IOC had come to stripping Athens of the Games he said: "Maybe only three months."
Samaranch, now the IOC's honorary president for life, said it took a stern warning to get things moving but once the government and organisers understood what they had to do they staged excellent Games.
"EXCELLENT ORGANISERS"
"We had a wonderful opening ceremony. All is going very well and the Greeks are showing to the world they are excellent organisers," said the 84-year-old Spaniard, looking fresh and relaxed in his Athens hotel suite.
"(In the past) we had the feeling the government did not value the importance of the Games. After consulting with (then chief inspector) Jacques Rogge I decided to say publicly that we were showing Athens a yellow card."
Samaranch praised the efforts of Athens Games (ATHOC) chief Gianna Angelopoulos who was brought back in 2000 to rescue the Games after leading the Greeks' successful 1997 bid.
She was not part of the initial ATHOC leadership but after Greece wasted more than three years of preparations due to resignations, delays in constructions and continuing in-fighting between the government and ATHOC, Angelopoulos was called back in.
Asked whether Angelopoulos, credited with Athens' remarkable rebound in preparations, was the main reason the city was ready on time, he said: "Yes, absolutely 100 percent. Until then the result was that over two years the organisation was not advancing."
Samaranch also said his successor to the IOC top job, Rogge who inspected Athens' preparations for years, had proved a wise choice.
Rogge took over from Samaranch in 2001 after the Spaniard's 21-year reign at the helm of the IOC.
"Dr Rogge for me was the best man to become my successor and I think I was right," he said. "He is an excellent IOC president and he is doing an excellent job."
As for the next Olympics in Beijing in 2008 fans should expect completely different Games.
"Beijing no doubt will present to the world different Games because our culture is different in the West," he said.
"But I am also speaking of participation of athletes because maybe (in the medals' list) China will be number one," he said with his trademark grin.
