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Swiss member takes over Athens spot
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- The head of the International Rowing Federation was named Monday to replace International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge as the main overseer of the 2004 Games, organizers said. The appointment of Denis Oswald, who is also an IOC member, comes a week after Rogge was elected to succeed Juan Antonio Samaranch. The 54-year-old Swisss has participated in key panels, including venue construction, during IOC inspection visits in Athens. The next coordination commission meeting in Athens is scheduled for September. Preparations for the Athens Games have been marred by construction delays and other problems, including a fight over the proposed site of the rowing center north of Athens. Environmentalists have complained it could damage a fragile coastal ecosystem and archeologists contend it could encroach on the site of the 490 B.C. battle of Marathon -- which gives the race its name. Olympic organizers deny the claims and have moved ahead with construction. IOC officials also say Athens organizers have overcome many other past difficulties that bogged down preparations. Oswald, a lawyer, was a former Swiss rowing champion and a member of a bronze medal-winning four oars and coxswain team at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. He became head of the rowing federation in 1989 and was named to the IOC two years later. He also was part in the IOC coordination commission for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. No candidates to replace Rogge in the Athens post were officially announced after he became IOC president. But another leading contender was reportedly Dutch IOC member Hein Verbruggen.
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