Athens bid leader may step aside
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from September 1997.
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Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, a lawyer and former parliament member who attained heroic status for bringing the games back to their birthplace, said in an interview that running an Olympic organizing committee is "a different role" from leading a bid.
"It's a very difficult task, different from the bidding process, completely different ... It's a huge responsibility," the first woman to lead a successful Olympic bid committee told The Associated Press.
Since beating Rome and three other cities last Friday in a vote by the International Olympic Committee, Angelopoulos-Daskalaki has been the focus of speculation over her future.
Some important figures insist that the job should automatically be her's. Other officials are less clear, hinting that too much is at stake to leave the Olympics in the hands of someone without experience organizing major sporting events. Angelopoulos-Daskalaki remains carefully diplomatic. But a possible added complication in the decision is that she served in parliament with the conservative New Democracy party now the main opposition to the Socialist government of Premier Costas Simitis, who could face pressure to appoint a party stalwart to the high-profile Olympic job.
The wife of a millionaire involved in shipping and steel, she repeatedly stressed her sense of accomplishment which she described as "something like winning a war." She also, however, made note of the heavy pressures that accompanied the job. "What I've done, I've done it fully committed, fully devoted me, my husband, my people. I forgot all personal aspects of my life and I've done it," she said in her offices filled with still-fresh bouquets. A brick-size stack of congratulatory telegrams sat on a chair.
"But I'll say it again: I don't want anything in return," she added. "As everyone who worked (on the bid), we want to see that the games are successful. OK, but that doesn't mean I want this or that other role."
The Greek media have speculated that she wants to be an ambassador or eventually seek the mostly ceremonial Greek presidency. Angelopoulos-Daskalaki labeled those reports "nonsense."
Even if Angelopoulos-Daskalaki does not guide the organizing effort, her stamp on the undertaking is already felt. Many political leaders, including Athens' mayor, have praised her unruffled style and urged others to learn a lesson.
"In the bottom of my heart, I knew we would win. But I never, never expressed that to anybody," she said. "But it was not a silly kind of feeling ... or that I saw a dream or something. It was just a feeling that I was looking forward to the decision."
There also was a bit of superstition.
In her purse, she carried the tie worn by the head of the bid committee from Sydney when they were awarded the 2000 games. She also had a four-leaf clover someone had given her earlier in the day.
