Chinese version of Samaranch biography launched in Beijing

Yu Zaiqing (L), vice president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and vice president of the Chinese Olympic Committee, Gou Zhongwen (C), president of the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) and Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. , vice president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) unveil the book "President Samaranch" during the launching ceremony of the book in Beijing, capital of China, May 10, 2019. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai)

BEIJING, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese version of a biography about former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch was released here on Friday.

The biography titled "President Samaranch: 21 Years of the IOC Presidency that Changed Sport" was written by journalists Pedro Palacios, Edgar Mont-Roig and Juan Manuel Surroca and edited together by the Samaranch Foundation. The Chinese version was translated by Wen Bing.

The ceremony for the Chinese version's launch was held at the Palace Museum, or the Forbidden City, coinciding with the 1,000-day countdown to the opening of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

IOC Vice President and son of the honoree Juan Antonio Samaranch said at the ceremony that one of the objectives for the Samaranch Foundation was to "keep the memory of my father alive".

"This book is a perfect product and a perfect result of the objective. Through this book we keep the memory of Samaranch alive," he said.

Samaranch, a former Spanish diplomat, presided over the IOC for 21 years from 1980-2001 and is credited with launching the TOP sponsor program that revitalized the organization.

Samaranch's final achievement before stepping down in July 2001, was to bring the 2008 Summer Olympic Games to Beijing. He was arguably the most famous foreigner in China and, thus awarding the world's most premier sporting event to the world's most populous country for the first time.