Longest-serving IOC member Pound elected as honorary member
Baku, May 21, AZERTAC
Richard Pound has been elected as an International Olympic Committee (IOC) honorary member here, with President Thomas Bach praising him as a "man of untiring inspiration and determination", according to insidethegames.biz.
The Canadian official is the longest-serving IOC member having first been elected in 1978.
However, he has reached the age limit of 80 for IOC membership, and is to become an honorary member next year after a unanimous verdict from the 139th IOC Session.
The IOC Executive Board proposed to the 139th IOC Session that Pound is elected as an honorary member, which was approved on a unanimous verdict.
Bach highlighted his contribution to the Olympic Movement dating back more than 60 years to his appearance at the Rome 1960 Olympic Games as a swimmer.
"During our many years together on the IOC Executive Board, and in the IOC, we all could gather many experiences about your direct and straightforward approach to any issue," Bach reflected.
"You were always able to initiate a lively dispute on many subjects.
"Sometimes some have perceived it as too lively, sometimes some have perceived it as too many, but we all always felt how unwavering your commitment was and is to the Olympic Values, to the IOC as an organisation, and to clean sport.
"This commitment was and is your driving force.
"Dear Richard, the IOC and the Olympic Movement have greatly benefited from your leadership."
Pound was a member of the IOC Executive Board from 1987 until 1991 and 1992 until 1996.
He has held numerous roles with the IOC, including as a member of the Future Host Commission for the Games of the Olympiad since 2019.
In 1999, he became the founding President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), a position he held until 2007.
From 2008 until the end of 2020, he served as the IOC's representative on the WADA Foundation Board.
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