SAMARANCH'S WIFE DIES
After presiding over the splendour of the opening ceremony, Juan Antonio Samaranch, the International Olympic Committee president, faced a personal tragedy: his gravely ill wife died on Saturday as he flew home to Spain to be with her.
Maria Teresa Salisachs-Rowe, 67, and reportedly suffering from cancer, died in Barcelona just two hours before Samaranch arrived. “She was a wonderful woman,” Samaranch told reporters in Barcelona. “I not only loved her, I admired her.”
Samaranch said his wife had been ill for several months and he last spoke with her before travelling to Sydney. He said he was notified of her death by telephone during the flight to Barcelona. “It has been a big loss,” Samaranch said. “But life is that way. Everything has a beginning and an end.”
Samaranch said the funeral would be held on Monday in Barcelona and that he would return to Sydney for the rest of the Games. IOC officials, Sydney organisers and the Australian government offered their condolences and paid tribute to Mrs Samaranch.
“She was not an IOC member, but she was a very close friend to all of us,” Pal Schmitt, the Hungarian member, said. “She was like the first lady of the IOC.”
In the village, a moment of silence was observed by the 199 national team mission chiefs at their morning briefing.
Sunday Times
