By Prensa Latina
Madrid : International Olympic Committee honorary president Juan Antonio Samaranch dismissed as unimportant the absence of some politicians from the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
In an interview released Sunday by the ABC daily, the IOC president from 1980-2001 termed irrelevant if any politician misses the opening day, since “athletes are the ones that count”.
Samaranch said he has very close ties with China. “I love and admire them”, added the official, calling impressive the changes China has experienced in the past 30 years.
He reminded that Beijing lost the race to host the 2000 Olympics by two votes but won the 2008 race easily, while its economic growth along those eight years went from 12 percent to 15 percent.
The IOC honorary president said the Olympic Games allows an array of races, traditions and political systems from 204 countries to coexist in peace, in a big world feast of youth, sports and peace.