KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC) — Jamaica Olympic Association chief Mike Fennell has described the late former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch has a “super leader” who was able to revive the Olympic movement at a crucial time in its development.

Samaranch died in Spain on Wednesday at age 89 after being admitted to hospital at the weekend with heart problems.

“We need to remember that he took over the presidency of the IOC at a time when boycotts were the order of the day,” Fennell told CMC Sports on Wednesday.

“They had just completed the boycott in 1976 in Montreal, there was a boycott in Moscow to be followed by the boycott in 1984 in LA (Los Angeles), and being the super diplomat he is and the super leader he is, he was able to pull all that around. He turned the IOC into one of the wealthiest organisations in the world.

“So he is highly respected with a lot of achievements. He built the Olympic movement, something that is really an amazing product,” said Fennell.

Samaranch was one of the longest-serving leaders of the IOC, holding power as president from 1980 until giving way to current chief Jacques Rogge in 2001.

He was credited for transforming a movement he found on its knees, following the massive boycott of the Moscow Games that saw 65 countries refusing to participate.

Fennell, also president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, said Samaranch’s contribution had been invaluable.

“The passing of Juan Antonio Samaranch, His Excellency, is a very sad day for the Olympic movement and sports all around,” Fennell noted.

“This man had a remarkable career in the Olympic movement as head of the IOC from 1980 to 2001 and certainly his achievements are really, really there to indicate he had what nobody could deny was a very successful run,” he ended.