EUGENE–The 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City are almost a year away, but a high-ranking Olympic official brings a taste of the Olympics to "Track Town, U.S.A." this week.

Richard Pound, first vice president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), will visit the University of Oregon on Wednesday, March 21, to address sports marketing students. Pound is one of three candidates to succeed Juan Antonio Samaranch as president of the IOC in July 2001.

"Dick Pound is a force in the Olympic movement," says Rick Burton, director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the UO Charles H. Lundquist College of Business. "We are thrilled that he has decided to share his wealth of knowledge and experience with our students."

Pound, an attorney, resides in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He joined the IOC in 1978, has served on many Olympic subcommittees and affiliated groups, and is former president of the Canadian Olympic Association. He is chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency, which was created in November 1999 to eradicate improper drug use in sports. Also, he wrote the controversial book, "Five Rings Over Korea: The Secret Negotiations Behind the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul."

Pound’s visit will offer students the chance to interact personally with the man responsible for television, marketing, sponsorship, licensing and other commercial matters for the Olympic Games. Learning from the experts is a cornerstone of the UO sports marketing program, which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees for students pursuing a career in sports business.

"Bringing leaders in their respective fields to educate and relate with our students is the driving force behind our curriculum," says Phil Romero, dean of the business college. "Outstanding classroom instruction must be combined with real-world expertise from people such as Mr. Pound."

As an athlete, Pound was a double Olympic swimming finalist for the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome. He won a gold, two silvers and a bronze medal at the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Australia. He earned five separate Canadian swimming titles from 1958 to 1962 and is a member of the Canadian Swimming Hall of Fame and Canadian Amateur Athletic Hall of Fame.

Pound will address UO students at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 21, in Room 128 of the Chiles Business Center, 925 E. 13th Ave. on the UO Campus.

For more information, call (541) 346-3411.

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