Rogge strives for perfection as an athlete, and as IOC president

A day after the 10th anniversay of his election as the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge said on Sunday that he is not satisfied with his job over the past decade.

"I have the mentality of an athlete as I used to be an athlete. Athletes are never satisfied with their performance. You can always do better," said Rogge, who competed in yachting in the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Olympics and played on the Belgian national rugby union team.

"There is, for me, an inner desire for perfection. Perfection is very difficult to get," he said to Xinhua in an interview during his visit to Shanghai for the 14th FINA World Chamionships.

Rogge was elected on July 16, 2001, at the 112th IOC Session in Moscow and is the IOC's eighth president after the 21-year leadership of Juan Antonio Samaranch who passed away last year.

"I would say the worst day was when the Georgen luge athlete (Nodar Kumaritashvili) died in Vancouver. This is the worst moment in my Olympic life," said Rogge.

After taking over the IOC he has strived to keep the Olympic Games at the pinnacle of world sport and to further enhance the value of the Olympic brand.

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) were launched and Singapore successfully hosted the first summer edition in 2010 and Innsbruck, Austria is preparing to stage the first winter edition in February of 2012. Nanjing of China will host the second summer edition in 2014 utilizing the sports on the London 2012 program.

The IOC has decided to explore new areas by choosing Rio de Janeiro to host the first South American summer Games in 2016 and Russia is in the process of developing Sochi for the 2014 winter edition. PyeongChang was just elected for the 2018 winter Games and will undoutedly boost the development of winter sports in Asia.

Rogge said that the tremendous positive effects brought by the Olympic Games result in a growing global enthusiasm for hosting the world's premier sport event.

"It allows not only the staging of great competition, but also it allows for the development of the city - new sport venues will be built, and there will be better transport and infrastructure, maybe a new airport, maybe new ring roads, so it is a legcy for the citizens of the city," said the 69-year-old Belgian.

"It's not just a competition of one or two weeks. It will leave a lasting legacy. Look at the changes after the Beijing Olympic Games, the people of Beijing are benefiting from that."

With the 2008 Olympics still lingering in the memonies of millions of Chinese people, there are already speculations about the possibility of a second bid for the event.

"I think in future there is a possibiltiy, but you know, you just organized the Games in 2008, so if Shanghai has the ambition to stage the Games, you have the potential to do it, that's not an issue, but time will be needed," said Rogge.

"You can't get two Olympic Games within a couple of years. There is a lot of competition with other countries around the world ... Certain time will be needed, because we have to distribute the Games to the entire world, not just to one country," added the IOC chief.

Rogge watched the men's 10-meter platform synchronized final Sunday afternoon at the Oriental Sporst Center and he said that he was impressed by the atmosphere.

"I would say, from what I've seen now, these are definitely truly friendly championships, " he said.

Source:Xinhua

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