Avery Brundage

Avery Brundage competed in the pentathlon and decathlon at the Olympic Games Stockholm 1912 before successfully founding his own construction company and becoming involved in sports administration by leading the U.S. and International Olympic Committees.The Detroit native served for seven years as the president of the Amateur Athletic Union and 24 years as the president of the American Olympic Association, later the United States Olympic Committee. Brundage staunchly believed that sports and politics should be kept separate, and pushed for the United States to participate in the Olympic Games Berlin 1936. He was elected to the International Olympic Committee in 1936 before becoming vice president from 1945-52 and later, president from 1952-72. He was the fifth president of the IOC, leading the committee during a tumultuous and politically charged term. Brundage was the first IOC president to have competed in the Olympic Games. He stepped down from his position following the Olympic Games Munich 1972 and passed away on May 8, 1975, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.