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Full transcript of interview with Rogge(BOCOG)Updated: 2006-11-01 16:19 Q: Let's go a little back to 2001 when you became the president of the IOC. Someone said to you, he was the member of the IOC, said 'this key, this key is the symbol of this ship...(not clear) you will now be guiding. There will be difficult task, as the ship has become overloaded. But I know you are a good captain.' Do you think you are a captain of the IOC? A: Yes, I am the captain, because I have been elected to be the captain. But you know, a captain on a ship cannot do anything without good crew. And a captain is as good as the sailors around him. And I am privileged that the IOC members have of such an exceptional quality. And the ship can sail sometimes troubles forwards. Q: How is the feeling, Mr. President. Tell us, for a president of the IOC, the captain of an international organization, and being a member of or a captain of, in your term because I know you have attended the Olympics for three times and you won gold and silver, and you are a captain, right? What's the difference? A: The difference is that when I was sailing at the Olympic Games, I was sailing alone in a boat. This was single-handed. In the IOC, in the middle of a great group, it is my task to unite the group and give the direction of where to go. Q: Since you assume the presidency, I know you have been dedicated to, you know, a lot of tasks. Some of them are very tough jobs about anti-doping, and judging, and even anti-corruption things like that. And you've been very bold to push for some very, let's say substantial reforms. How far have you become in the works of this aspect? A: Well, you know, I am only one of many working for the future of the Olympic Movement. So it is a team effort. But I believe that the team has achieved good results. Since I was elected, we've had three absolutely superb Games, Salt Lake Olympic Games, in Athens, and in Torino. Beijing will be a huge success, this I can tell you already. And in future with Vancouver and London also look very promising. Beyond the success of the Games, I think the IOC has progressed a lot in promoting the Olympic values. We are fighting hard for a clean sport, fighting against doping. We have improved a lot of rules and regulations concerning judging and referring. Q: You hate doping. Right? Very much. A: Yes, of course. I hate doping because first of all it is destroying the credibility of sport. Sport is based on a hierarchy. And if the hierarchy is not based on merit and hard training, it has no more value. It cannot be that the best doctor or the best pharmacist wins the competition. It has to be the best athlete, because the athlete worked the hardest, and devoted himself or herself to the sport. And the second aspect is that doping is a big danger for the health of the athletes, so we have to protect that. Q: Mr. President, you have been the president of the IOC, the captain of this huge ship, for, let's say five years. Are you happy so far with this job? I mean, you know, working for IOC, even as the president, you know, it's kind of a voluntary job. You don't get paid, right? A: No. It is the tradition in the IOC that the IOC members are not paid. And we don't ask to be paid because we are paid back by the fantastic privilege that we are having. To be able to organize sport and work for sport, for young people, this is a great privilege. I think (I am) a privileged man. So if you ask me 'are you happy,' it's not a matter of happiness, because there are difficulties and there are problems, and you know sometimes I have a hectic timeline. I have traveled a lot, I have visited a lot of countries, solved a lot of problems. So it's not a matter of happiness. It's a matter of feeling a privileged individual to be able to do something for sport that I dream of. This is something in life: if you can do what your dreams are, this is an exception. Q: So Mr. President, thank you for the interview. At the end of the interview, I would like to invite you to say a few words to our Chinese audience whom you know there are just hundreds of millions. A: I'd say in my bad Chinese, "Beijing Huanyin Ni." Q: Very good, Beijing Huanyin ni. Okay, thank you. But anyway, but I let you go, we prepared a little, actually my friends from BOCOG. It's the messages coming from the netizens. I pick up a few I read to you, then I present this gift to you. Let's say, listen to this: Hi, Grandpa Rogge. I am a kid living in a small village near Beijing. My hometown has changed a lot these years and most of funds for these changes come from the investment for Olympic constructions. Thank you and all IOC members. You bring my hometown a great opportunity for development. If you have time, come to my village and taste our chestnuts and red apples. (Laughter) A: Wonderful. Q: This is very nice. And the other one is very interesting. Someone sincerely hopes you can become a honorable citizen of Beijing and welcome to our capital city again and again. A: Thank you very much. This is a wonderful gift. Thank you.
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