FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2010

SOFTBALL MOURNS PASSING OF FORMER IOC LEADER

PLANT CITY, FLORIDA (USA) -- The international softball family joins in the worldwide sporting community’s sadness upon the news of former International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch’s passing.

Mr. Samaranch was the president at the time that softball was admitted as an Olympic sport (June 13, 1991) and not only attended the sport’s debut competition at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, but was at the softball venue as recently as the August 2008 Olympic tournament in Beijing.

Mr. Samaranch was the honorary chair of the BackSoftball Task Force, which was a driving force in the sport’s Olympic reinstatement efforts.

“This certainly is a sad day in international sports and the Olympic Movement,” said International Softball Federation President Don Porter. “Former president Samaranch was not only a great supporter of softball, but moreover, a truly dedicated ambassador for the growth and promotion of amateur and professional sports, both for men and women. He personified so much of what the Olympics became during his leadership. We will certainly miss this colleague and friend."

 

About the ISF
The ISF is the world governing body of the sport as recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and SportAccord (formerly the General Association of International Sports Federations). Softball (women's fast pitch) made its Olympic debut at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. There are 128 affiliated countries in the ISF and millions of participants in the sport worldwide.

MEDIA: For more information, please contact ISF Director of Communications Bruce Wawrzyniak at brucew@ISFsoftball.org or (813) 864-0100, ext. 229.