The committee recalled that Rogge played rugby in the Belgian national team. He also devoted himself to yachting. He was a sixteen-time champion of Belgium and once a world champion. In 1968, 1972 and 1976, he participated in the Olympic Games in the Finn class. It is a single-crew yacht.
After finishing his career, he became chairman of the Belgian Olympic Committee and was elected head of the IOC in 2001.
In a photo from 2013, Jacques Rogge announces that the 2020 Olympics will be held in Tokyo. The games finally took place this year due to the pandemic.
Photo: Fabrice Coffrini, CTK / AP
“He was a great sports enthusiast and was able to pull down everyone who knew him. His enjoyment of the sport was contagious, “said Thomas Bach, the current chairman of the IOC.
He recalled that Rogge had tirelessly fought doping in sports and was opposed to the pomp and gigantic nature of the Olympic Games.
