TitleMr.
Name:Primo
Surname:Nebiolo
Nationality:ITA  Italy
Date of Birth:14/06/1923
Died:07/11/1999
Function:Other
 
Biography:
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 after a heart attack on November 7 in Rome. He was 76. During his 18 years as head of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, 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, 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, the budget is around $40 million, with revenues generated mainly from television and sponsorship deals. Several months before his death, Nebiolo helped his native city of Turin, in northern Italy, win the right to play host to 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. 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 his tenure at the IAAF included: holding the World Championships every two years instead of four; introducing prize money at the championships starting in 1997; moving the IAAF headquarters from London to Monaco; and establishing the prestigious Golden League circuit of European meets. Nebiolo's career was also marked by controversy. When the IAAF suspended Butch Reynolds, the former 400-meter world record-holder, in 1990 over a positive drug test, Reynolds sued, claiming the test was flawed. Reynolds won a $27.3 million judgment against the IAAF in a U.S. court. 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.
 
Related Database Events:
Athletics7/11/1999
Athletics20/11/1998
Athletics13/9/1996

         
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