|
|
 |
Walther Tröger, Special Olympics Board member. |
Special Olympics Board member Walther Tröger is no stranger to the “Olympic Spirit.” Tröger, a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for more than a decade, was appointed to the Special Olympics Board of Directors after serving several years on Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia’s Presidents Council. A member of the Olympic Organizing Committee and Mayor of Olympic Village at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Munich, Tröger attended his first Special Olympics World Winter Games six years ago as a guest of the German delegation. “The experience was an absolutely positive one,” he said.
“The role of Special Olympics worldwide is to integrate people with intellectual disabilities into society through sports,” he explained. “The philosophy that international sports competition is about unity, not about winning at all costs, was very convincing.” A “sportsman” since the days he headed the Students’ Sports Department at the University of Erlangen 40 years ago, Tröger served as Secretary General on the National Olympic Committee for Germany from 1961 until 1992, when he was elected President. He has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 1989, serving as Sports Director from 1983 to 1990. From 1976 to 1994, Tröger was Chef de Mission of the Olympic Winter Games.
Along with his passion for winter sports, Tröger brings a wealth of sports governing experience in summer sports, too. He has served as Vice President of the German Basketball Federation since 1976, as a member of the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) Sports Commission from 1964 to 1994 and as a member of the Executive Board, then Deputy Chairman of the German Sports Aid Foundation.
As a member of the IOC, he served as a delegate for Sports for the Disabled. In this capacity, Tröger was a “one-man team” liaison to organizations like Special Olympics and the Paralympics. He also was a member, then Chairman in 1990, of the Sports for All Commission, a worldwide human rights movement to provide opportunities for all people, including those with handicaps, to participate in sports.
Walther Tröger is pleased with the cooperation and friendship between the International Olympic Committee and sports organizations for the disabled, such as Special Olympics. “The Special Olympics movement is growing, and its standing in the world is well-respected. The input and experience from other sources (such as sports governing bodies) is a great contribution.”
As a Board member of Special Olympics, one of Tröger’s goals is to use his contacts within the European sports community to extend the influence of Special Olympics worldwide.
“In many countries of the world, people with intellectual disabilities are still segregated, hidden away,” he said. “The growth of Special Olympics is a step forward in making positive changes in the lives of those with intellectual disabilities.”
Walther Tröger was born in 1929 in Wunsiedel, Germany. He holds a degree in law from the University of Erlangen and is also an honorary professor at the University of Potsdam. He is married to Almuth Tröger, with two children. He enjoys basketball, athletics, and handball, along with skiing and tennis.
Excerpted and reprinted from Spirit magazine, Quarter 1 – 2001. By Mary Ann Reuter
|
