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IAAF president Nebiolo dead Heart attack claims world track and field boss at 76
Posted: Sunday November 07, 1999 10:07 AM
ROME (AP) - Primo Nebiolo, whose nearly two-decade stint as president of track and field's world governing body was as influential as it was controversial, died Sunday morning. He was 76. Nebiolo died at the Mater Dei Clinic after a heart attack at his home, the International Amateur Athletic Federation said. During his 18 years as head of the IAAF, and seven years on the International Olympic Committee, the Italian established himself as one of the most powerful figures in world sport. He raised the profile and profits for track and field significantly, while sometimes earning criticism for his autocratic and outspoken style. When Nebiolo took over the IAAF in 1981, its budget was $50,000 a year. Today, it's around $40 million, with revenues generated mainly from television and sponsorship deals. "He was someone who in the world of sports left an indelible mark," IAAF spokesman Giorgio Reineri said. "Years from now, when you look at the history of sports, Nebiolo will be remembered as a person with defects but also as a man who changed the world of sports." Nebiolo earlier this year helped his native city of Turin, in northern Italy, win the right to host the 2006 Winter Olympics, upsetting favored candidate Sion, Switzerland. It was a sweet victory for Nebiolo, who was widely thought to have hindered Rome's failed 1997 bid for the 2004 Summer Olympics by engaging in public squabbles with the backers of Athens, Greece, which landed the games. Dario Petrucci, his personal physician, told the ANSA news agency that Nebiolo was supposed to meet Sunday with Fiat's honorary chairman, Gianni Agnelli, to discuss the 2006 Olympics. Reineri said Nebiolo recently was ill with a cold and high fever, and his last public appearance was at the Milan sport and cinema festival on Oct. 21. Nebiolo also attended the meeting of the IOC 2000 reform commission in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Oct. 30. In August, Nebiolo was elected by acclamation to another four-year term as IAAF president. He ran unopposed. Under the IAAF's constitution, first vice president Lamine Diack of Senegal takes over as acting president. But Reneiri said the constitution does not specify when a new president should be elected. He said the issue will be decided by the IAAF's ruling Council at its Nov. 18-19 meeting in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Nebiolo, intent on preserving his complete hold on power, never groomed a successor. Nebiolo, who spoke at least five languages and received dozens of honorary degrees around the world, leaves behind a large legacy in sports. Innovations during Nebiolo's tenure at the IAAF included: holding the World Championships every two years instead of four; introducing prize money at the worlds starting in 1997; moving the IAAF headquarters from London to Monaco; and establishing the prestigious Golden League circuit of European meets. Nebiolo played a major role in the creation of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), which runs the World University Games, and had served as its president since 1961. Nebiolo was president of the Association of Summer Olympic Federations (ASOIF) since 1983 - a post he used to push the IOC for a greater share of Olympic revenues. Nebiolo's career was also marked by controversy. At the 1987 World Championships in Rome, Italy's Giovanni Evangelisti won the bronze medal after being credited with a sixth and final leap of 8.38 meters (27 feet, 6 inches). But the medal was later taken away after investigations showed that Italian officials rigged the result by falsifying the measurement. Larry Myricks, the original fourth-place finisher, was given the bronze. Nebiolo was president of the Italian national federation at the time. Although he was never directly implicated in the scandal, he lost the Italian post in 1989. Nebiolo also became well known for his legal battle with Butch Reynolds, the former 400-meter world record-holder. In 1990, the IAAF suspended Reynolds over a positive drug test. Reynolds, who claimed the test was flawed, sued and won a $27.3 million judgment against the IAAF in a U.S. court. But the IAAF refused to pay and eventually won a verdict that the U.S. courts had no jurisdiction in the case. At the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, the reinstated Reynolds helped the United States break the world record for the 1,600-meter relay - and Nebiolo presented the medals, patting and kissing Reynolds on both cheeks. Born on July 14, 1923, in Turin, Nebiolo studied law and political science. During World War II, he was a volunteer in the Italian national army, before joining the partisan movement. He was arrested by German forces in 1944, but escaped from prison. Nebiolo's start in sports came as a national-class long jumper, and he often talked about his ability in humorous, self-deprecating tones. He was president of the Italian Athletics Federation from 1969-89, and joined the IAAF Council in 1972. He was a member of the Italian National Olympic Committee's executive committee from 1973-78, and reappointed seven years ago. Nebiolo is survived by his wife, Giovanna. Friends and admirers will get the chance to pay their respects Monday morning at the Italian National Olympic Committee headquarters in Rome. The funeral will be in Rome, likely on Tuesday, Reineri said.
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