As president of the International Olympic Committee for 21 years starting in 1980, Juan Antonio Samaranch led a transformation of the Games into a highly commercialized spectacle of professional athletes, one that nations compete to host.

Mr. Samaranch, who died Wednesday at age 89, oversaw the elimination of amateurism, a cornerstone of the Olympics since their revival in 1896 by Pierre de Coubertin. He also led the Games into increasingly lucrative television contracts and corporate sponsorships that rescued the IOC's finances.

But with the increase in prestige and finance came a series of bribery scandals surrounding the awarding of the 2002 Winter Games to Salt Lake City. Also under Mr. Samaranch's leadership, doping scandals emerged. To his credit, Mr. Samaranch instituted organizational reforms to address the bribing of IOC members, but for much of Mr. Samaranch's tenure the IOC seemed deficient in detecting drug use.

The son of a prosperous Barcelona textilemanufacturer, he joined the Spanish Olympic Committee, and led Spanish teams to the Olympics starting in 1956. In 1966, he was named Spain's minister of sports.

In 1977, Mr. Samaranch became Spain's ambassador to the Soviet Union. His experience came in handy in the run-up to the 1980 Moscow Olympics, after which he was elected president of the IOC.

The IOC was in disarray, nearly bankrupt, and the Olympic movement seemed on the wane. Mr. Samaranch engineered a turnaround, helped by the 1984 Los Angeles Games, which were widely deemed successful.

After Los Angeles, cities around the world began to vie to host Olympiads. Corporate sponsorships and TV contracts surged. To maximize interest, the IOC moved the winter and summer Games to separate years in the early 1990s.

As the IOC's fortunes multiplied, Mr. Samaranch demanded he be referred to as 'your excellency,' and insisted on lavishsurroundings.

'He was very regal, but also gracious,' says Neal Pilson, president of CBS Sports in the 1990s, when he led negotiations to cover three winter Olympics.

Mr. Samaranch weathered the Salt Lake City scandal and retired in 2001 after 21 years as IOC president. In retirement he headed the Olympic Museum he founded in Lausanne, Switzerland. He also helped organizeunsuccessful bids for Spain to host the 2012 and 2016 Games.

Stephen Miller

• international [,intə´næʃənəl] a.国际的，世界的 (初中词汇)
• spectacle [´spektəkəl] n.展览；表演；景象 (初中词汇)
• professional [prə´feʃənəl] a.职业的 n.自由职业 (初中词汇)
• compete [kəm´pi:t] v.比赛，竞争，对抗 (初中词汇)
• wednesday [´wenzdi] n.星期三 (初中词汇)
• finance [´fainæns] n.财政；金融 vt.资助 (初中词汇)
• series [´siəri:z] n.连续；系列；丛书 (初中词汇)
• prosperous [´prɔspərəs] a.繁荣的；顺利的 (初中词汇)
• manufacturer [,mænju´fæktʃərə] n.制造人；工厂主 (初中词汇)
• minister [´ministə] n.部长；大臣 v.伺候 (初中词汇)
• ambassador [æm´bæsədə] n.大使 (初中词汇)
• soviet [´səuviit] a.苏联的 n.苏维埃 (初中词汇)
• moscow [´mɔskəu] n.莫斯科 (初中词汇)
• movement [´mu:vmənt] n.活动；运动；动作 (初中词汇)
• organize [´ɔ:gənaiz] v.组织；编组；建立 (初中词汇)
• surrounding [sə´raundiŋ] n.周围的事物 (高中词汇)
• leadership [´li:dəʃip] n.领导(能力) (高中词汇)
• scandal [´skændl] n.丑闻；耻辱；流言蜚语 (高中词汇)
• switzerland [´switsələnd] n.瑞士 (高中词汇)
• transformation [,trænsfə´meiʃən] n.转化；转变；改造 (四级词汇)
• revival [ri´vaivəl] n.苏醒；复活；复兴 (四级词汇)
• increasingly [in´kri:siŋli] ad.日益，愈加 (四级词汇)
• prestige [pres´ti:ʒ] n.威望，威信；声望 (四级词汇)
• textile [´tekstail] a.纺织的 n.纺织品 (四级词汇)
• bankrupt [´bæŋkrʌpt] n.破产者 a.破产了的 (四级词汇)
• lavish [´læviʃ] a.慷慨的；浪费的 (四级词汇)
• retirement [ri´taiəmənt] n.退休；撤退；幽静处 (四级词汇)
• unsuccessful [,ʌnsək´sesful] a.不成功的，失败的 (四级词汇)
• miller [´milə] n.磨坊主；铣床(工) (四级词汇)
• elimination [i,limi´neiʃən] n.消除；淘汰 (六级词汇)
• retired [ri´taiəd] a.退休的；通职的 (六级词汇)