Olympics
Olympic Broadcasting Services founder Romero dies of cancer at 81
Manolo Romero, who was pivotal to the growth of the Olympic Games globally by founding the Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), has died at the age of 81 following a battle with cancer.
The Spaniard was first involved at the Olympics at Mexico City 1968, but started working towards the creation of the OBS when he was first in charge of the host broadcast operation at Los Angeles 1984.
He would keep this role for Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996, and at Sydney 2000 would cover the Olympics and Paralympics, before the OBS was formed in 2003 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) under his watch as chief executive.
The OBS then streamlined the host process, becoming a company that broadcasted the Olympics, Paralympics, Winter Olympics, Winter Paralympics and the Youth Olympics.
Romero would continue in his role, before retiring from the Games after London 2012.
Prior to his lengthy career as one of the most influential media personnel in the Olympic Movement, Romero started his career at Spanish broadcaster TVE.
He is also regarded as one of the pioneers of host broadcasting as a concept, first rolling this out at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain before extending this to the Olympics two years later in Los Angeles.
This year, Romero became the first European to be inducted into the United States-based Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
At the time of his entry, Romero said: “All of the Olympics have had something special, but the thing I am most proud of is seeing how OBS is today and how it’s still moving forward and is innovative.
“I am very proud of that.”
Several figureheads from the IOC paid tribute to him including chair of the OBS and IOC member Geraldo Werthein, who called him his “amigo” when making comment.
IOC vice-president and OBS Board member Juan Antonio Samaranch and NBC Olympics and Business President Gary Zenkel referred to him as a “trailblazer”, while European Broadcasting Union (EBU) leader Fernando Pardo called Romero “a genius”.
German broadcaster ARD/ZDF, Britain’s BBC, Canada’s CBC, The Netherlands’ NOS and France’s FTV paid their respects too.
Romero’s successor as chief executive, Yiannis Exarchos, called him “instrumental”.
“His mentorship and leadership were instrumental in my life and his wisdom and work ethic transcended our work together,” said Exarchos.
“The legacy of his guidance still resonates with me every single day of my professional life.
“Words can’t begin to express how much I will miss him.
“There was no greater champion of the Olympic Movement, nor anyone whose impact was greater on the world being able to come together and unite through the power of sport.”
Alongside his work with the OBS, Romero founded International Sports Broadcasting, a company that broadcasts major sporting events.
This is now run by his daughter, Úrsula Romero.
He is credited with popularising formats like high-definition television or stereo, globally.
Romero grew up in Seville and earned a degree from the University of Madrid, majoring in telecommunications engineering with a minor in economics.
While working at TVE, he became chair of an EBU working group on exchanging programmes internationally via satellite.
Through the organisation, he worked at the Mexico City Olympics, organising the transmissions for several major broadcasters around the world.
-insidethegames
Athletes at the Milano Cortina Winter Games have raced through their free condom supply ahead of Valentine’s Day, leaving dispensers empty on Saturday, with more than a week of competition remaining.
According to a report by Reuters, organisers had distributed around 10,000 condoms across the city and mountain accommodation sites, continuing a long-standing Olympic tradition aimed at promoting safe relationships among competitors living in close quarters.
By Saturday, however, supplies had run out — adding Milan to a growing list of Olympic hosts where demand has comfortably exceeded expectations.
“Clearly, this shows Valentine’s Day is in full swing at the village,” International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams told a press conference. “Ten thousand have been used — 2,800 athletes — you can go figure, as they say.”
Adams added with a smile: “It is rule 62 of the Olympic Charter that we have to have a condoms story. Faster, higher, stronger, together.”
Milano Cortina organisers later acknowledged that stocks had been depleted due to “higher-than-anticipated demand,” but assured that additional supplies were already on the way.
“Additional supplies are being delivered and will be distributed across all Villages between today and Monday,” organisers said in a statement. “They will be continuously replenished until the end of the Games to ensure continued availability.”
The unexpected shortage also surprised some athletes.
Mexican figure skater Donovan Carrillo said he had only just heard about the situation. “I just saw that this morning. I was, like, shocked as everyone else,” he said.
Mialitiana Clerc, an alpine skier representing Madagascar, noted that boxes once placed at building entrances were quickly emptied.
“There were a lot of boxes at the entrance of every building where we were staying, and every day, everything had gone from the boxes,” Clerc said. “I already know that a lot of people are using condoms, or giving them to their friends outside of the Olympics, because it’s a kind of gift for them.”
While medals remain the official measure of achievement at the Games, the empty dispensers suggest that the social side of the Olympics is also proceeding at full pace.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday awarded a top state honour to an Olympic skeleton racer who was disqualified from the Winter Games for wearing a helmet commemorating athletes killed in the war with Russia.
Zelenskiy, speaking to Vladyslav Heraskevych on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference, said he had great respect for “all the Olympians who supported you and your position.”
“Medals are important for Ukraine and for you, but it seems to me that the most important thing is who you are,” Zelenskiy said while presenting the racer with the Order of Freedom.
Heraskevych told the president the award was “huge” and that the athletes depicted on the helmet “deserve it even more. Because of their sacrifice, we can compete in the Olympics.”
Heraskevych, 27, was disqualified at the Winter Games in Italy on Thursday when the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation jury ruled that the helmet’s depiction of athletes killed since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 breached rules on political neutrality.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed his appeal on Friday.
Heraskevych told reporters after the award ceremony that his disqualification was discriminatory as he had not violated the Olympic Charter, a document he said he “really valued.”
“But at the same time, I understand that this scandal has united people around the world about our problem and about the sacrifice of these great athletes, and I believe this goal is much more important than any medal,” he said.
Speaking before the CAS hearing earlier in the day, Heraskevych said his exclusion and rules imposed by the International Olympic Committee were “an instrument of propaganda for Russia. I still receive a lot of threats from the Russian side.”
-Reuters
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Ukraine’s skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the Milano Cortina Winter Games on Thursday over the use of a helmet depicting Ukrainian athletes killed in the war with Russia, the International Olympic Committee said.
He was informed of his disqualification after a meeting with IOC President Kirsty Coventry early in the morning at the sliding venue.
His team said they would appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Coventry told reporters she had wanted to meet the athlete face to face in a last-ditch effort to break the impasse.
“I was not meant to be here but I thought it was really important to come here and talk to him face to face,” Coventry told reporters.
“No one, especially me, is disagreeing with the messaging, it’s a powerful message, it’s a message of remembrance, of memory.
“The challenge was to find a solution for the field of play. Sadly we’ve not been able to find that solution” she added, choking up.
“I really wanted to see him race, It’s been an emotional morning.”
The IOC offered him the opportunity to display his “helmet of remembrance” depicting 24 images of dead compatriots before the start and after the end of Thursday’s race at the Games, while also allowing him to wear a black armband while competing.
“I am disqualified from the race. I will not get my Olympic moment,” said Heraskevych.
The skeleton competition starts later on Thursday.
-Reuters
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