Former IOC President Samaranch diagnosed "very bad"

Former IOC President Samaranch diagnosed "very bad"

Quiron Hospital doctor Rafael Esteban Mur speaks at a news briefing on Samaranch's condition, in Barcelona, Spain, April 20, 2010. Former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch, 89, has been "suffering from acute coronary insufficiency and his prognosis is very bad," a spokesman for Barcelona's Quiron Hospital said on Tuesday.

MADRID, April 20 -- Former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch, 89, has been hospitalized in Barcelona for suffering severe heart trouble and his prognosis is "very bad", a hospital spokesman said Tuesday.

Samaranch was head of the IOC from 1980 to 2001. Only Pierre de Coubertin, the "father" of the modern Olympics and IOC chief from 1896 to 1925, has held the post longer.

He has been hospitalized several times in recent years, most recently in Monoco in 2009 after he fainted.

Samaranch was hospitalized for "extreme fatigue" in Switzerland in 2001 shortly after he stepped down as IOC head and in Barcelona in 2007 for high blood pressure. He has also received dialysis treatment for kidney trouble.

In this file photo taken on July 16, 2001, Juan Antonio Samaranch, former president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), gestures after Jacques Rogge is elected as new IOC president during a meeting in Moscow, Russia. Former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch, 89, has been "suffering from acute coronary insufficiency and his prognosis is very bad," a spokesman for Barcelona's Quiron Hospital spokesman said on Tuesday.

In this file photo taken on August 14, 2008, Juan Antonio Samaranch, honorary president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), watches the final of the Dressage Team Mixed during the Beijing Olympic Games, in south China's Hong Kong. Former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch, 89, has been "suffering from acute coronary insufficiency and his prognosis is very bad," a spokesman for Barcelona's Quiron Hospital spokesman said on Tuesday.

Photo taken on April 20, 2010 shows the Quiron Hospital where former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch is hospitalized in Barcelona, Spain. Former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch, 89, has been "suffering from acute coronary insufficiency and his prognosis is very bad," a spokesman for Barcelona's Quiron Hospital said on Tuesday.

Quiron Hospital doctor Rafael Esteban Mur (R) and Jaume Gurri host a news briefing on Samaranch's condition, in Barcelona, Spain, April 20, 2010. Former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch, 89, has been "suffering from acute coronary insufficiency and his prognosis is very bad," a spokesman for Barcelona's Quiron Hospital said on Tuesday.
(Xinhua)