Finnish member resigns
Haeggman ends 17-year career amid bribery allegations
Posted: Tuesday January 19, 1999 04:49 PM
| |
Haeggman: "The Olympic games are in the future the most important happening in sports, and one which unites the whole world" AP |
HELSINKI, Finland (AP) -- Pirjo Haeggman of Finland, the first
IOC member to resign amid the growing Olympic bribery scandal,
denied any wrongdoing Tuesday but said she believed her work had
been undermined.
In a statement released hours after handing in her resignation
to International Olympic Committee chairman Juan Antonio Samaranch,
Haeggman said "I have not broken my Olympic oath nor violated IOC
rules."
But, she said, "I have lost my ability to function as a
constructive IOC member."
Haeggman also said that she wanted to free the Helsinki 2006
Winter Olympics bidding committee from any drawback her tarnished
reputation might cause. She has resigned from her marketing
position with the bid committee.
"I see the success of that venture as more important than my
own career," she said in the statement.
Among the allegations swirling around Haeggman is that the
committee pushing Toronto's bid for the 1996 Olympics paid the rent
for her and her husband, whom she has since divorced.
"My impression up to this day has been that the rent for our
dwelling was paid according to the contract by my husband's
employer. It is a surprise for me that the committee paid the
rent," she said.
Haeggman also denied knowing that her ex-husband, Bjarne, had
received payments from the committee promoting Salt Lake City's
successful bid for the 2002 games.
The growing scandal has brought wide calls for reform in the
Olympic movement, and Haeggman said she thinks the games will
overcome the scandal.
"The Olympic games are in the future the most important
happening in sports, and one which unites the whole world. The
Olympic games are the high point of any athlete's career."
Haeggman is a 12-time Finnish national middle-distance running
champion. She competed in three Olympics, beginning in 1972 in
Munich and also running in the Montreal and Moscow Games. Her best
Olympic showing was fourth place in the 400 meters in Montreal.
Haeggman in 1981 was one of the two first women to become
members of the IOC.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
