German Rieckehoff
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German Rieckehoff (February 5, 1915–September 2, 1997), was a renowned president of the Puerto Rican Olympic committee.
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[edit] Early years
Rieckehoff, (birth name: German Rieckehoff Sampayo) was born in Vieques, Puerto Rico and is considered to have been the most influential president of the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee. His ancestors immigrated from Germany and settled in Vieques, also known as the "Little Island". He was raised in a homestead owned by his parents. His parents were poor farmers (Jíbaros) who provided him with his basic needs and a good education. A relative, Carlos Rieckehoff, was an important leader of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and he followed the cause of independence himself. [1]
Rieckehoff was an athletic youth and when young he was an expert swimmer. In 1947, Rieckehoff founded an association of Viequenses to fight the presence of the U.S. Navy on the island of Vieques.[2] He enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico where he earned his law degree. It was during his university years that he became involved with the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee, eventually becoming the president of the Committee.
[edit] Puerto Rican Olympic Committee
In 1980, the United States boycotted the Olympic Games celebrated in Moscow, Russia. Rieckehoff was against the boycott because he believed that politics should not get involved with sporting events. He was, therefore, denied economic support from the local government. Rieckehoff did however, manage to send one athlete to represent Puerto Rico. Alberto Mercado, became the only United States citizen to participate in the 1980 Olympics in the boxing event.[3]
[edit] The Barceló incident
In 1982, the Government of Puerto Rico, headed by then governor Carlos Romero Barceló, withheld economic support from the athletic delegation headed to Cuba, where the Central American and Caribbean Games were going to be held. The Puerto Rican Olympic Committee, under the leadership of Rieckehoff, had to appeal directly to the people for donations and were able to send the delegation. [3]
[edit] The Albergue Olympico (Olympic Hostel)
Rieckehoff oversaw the construction of the "Olympic Village" in Carolina for the VIII Pan American Games, held in Puerto Rico in 1979 and he also oversaw the construction of the Albergue Olympico (Olympic Hostel) in Salinas. He donated the land for the establishment of the "Regional Development Center".[4]
[edit] Later years
In the late 1980s, Rieckehoff traveled to Lausanne, Switzerland and at the International Olympic Committee Headquarters, he requested that the 2004 Olympic Games be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He pointed out that the success of the Pan American Games held in the island had proved that Puerto Rico had the facilities capable of holding an event such as the Olympics. The Committee took his request into consideration but, after some years of studying the situation, decided for Athens, Greece to hold the games instead. [5]
Rieckehoff indicated in a speech that he feared that sports professionals were gaining more control than the partisans of the Olympics. He also believed that the salaried professionals and administrators automactically thought that they knew what was best for the Olympics, when in reality the partisans were the ones with the proper knowledge.
On September 2, 1997, German Rieckehoff was in Lausanne, Switzerland when he fell ill. He was rushed on an ambulance plane with his wife, Irma Gonzlez, a sports leader in her own right, and son German, but died on the flight. His remains were returned to Puerto Rico, where he received a hero's funeral. He was survived by his wife, Irma, who died on May 3, 2006, their children, Angelita, German and Juan Adolfo Rieckehoff. [5]
[edit] Honors and recognitions
In his honor, the Albergue Olympico was renamed and is now known as the "German Rieckehoff Albergue Olympico", which also houses his gravesite, where his remains lie along with those of his wife. There is also a German Rieckehoff High School in Vieques and one in Virginia. On August 16, 2003 the Puerto Rican Legislature passed Law # 182 which established the "German Rieckehoff Sampayo Medal" of the Puerto Rican Legislative Assembly for excellence in sports. The medal is to be presented annually the sportsperson whose local or international accomplishments have helped keep the image of Puerto Rican sports among the best. [6] Author Raul Mayo Santana wrote Rieckehoff's biography in a book titled "El Juguete Sagrado: German Rieckehoff Sampayo Vida Y Leyenda" [1]
[edit] Further reading
- "El Juguete Sagrado: German Rieckehoff Sampayo Vida Y Leyenda"; Author: Raul Mayo Santana ; Publication Date: January 2000; ISBN-10: 1563282011
