Richard Pound

Richard William Duncan Pound (born March 22, 1942), better known as Dick Pound, is a Canadian swimming champion, lawyer, and spokesman for ethics in sport. He was the first president of the World Anti-Doping Agency and vice-president of the International Olympic Committee. He is currently the longest-serving member of the IOC.

Pound is a staunch advocate of strict drug testing for athletes, and has made many allegations of cheating and official corruption, some of them challenged, owing to disputes over the testing and reporting procedures. '' Time'' magazine featured him as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World". He was a chancellor of McGill University and was chairman of the board of Olympic Broadcasting Services.

Early life and education

Pound was born on March 22, 1942, in St. Catharines, Ontario, the eldest of four children. His father was an engineer at a pulp-and-paper mill, and the family moved often. His family moved to numerous Quebec towns, including La Tuque and Trois Rivieres. When Pound was six, his family moved to Ocean Falls, British Columbia. He later moved to Montreal in 1957 and attended Mount Royal High School in Mount Royal, Quebec.

In addition to swimming, Pound was a squash player and won the Canadian intercollegiate championship twice.

In 1962, he earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University and was on the Dean's List. One of his classmates was John Cleghorn. He received a licentiate in accounting from McGill in 1964 and got his chartered accountant designation the same year. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours from Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University) in 1963 and graduated from the McGill University Faculty of Law with a Bachelor of Civil Law degree in 1967. During his time at McGill, he swam for the McGill Redmen from 1958 to 1962 and from 1964 to 1967. He established school records in every freestyle event, winning three Canadian intercollegiate gold medals in each of his freshman, sophomore and senior years. He was honoured by the Scarlet Key Society and was awarded the Carswell Company Prize. He served as managing editor of the '' McGill Law Journal''.

Career

Swimming

Pound won the Canadian freestyle championship four times (1958, 1960, 1961, and 1962) and the Canadian butterfly championship in 1961. He competed for Canada at the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago and the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, where he finished sixth in the 100 meter freestyle and was fourth with the 4 × 100 m relay team. He won one gold, two silver, and one bronze medals at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, Western Australia and set a Commonwealth record in the 110 yd freestyle.

Canadian Olympic Committee

After Pound retired from competitive swimming, he served as secretary of the Canadian Olympic Committee in 1968. He was president of the organization from 1977 to 1982.

Olympics

Pound was the Deputy Chef de mission of the Canadian delegation for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. He was director and executive member of the Organizing Committee for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary and director of the Canadian Bidding Committee for hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Pound was the former Secretary of the Canadian Squash Rackets Association, as well as a former member of the Pan-American Sports Organization (PASO) Executive Commission and Legislative Commission.

In 1978, Pound was elected to the International Olympic Committee and put in charge of negotiating television and sponsorship deals. He was on the IOC executive committee for 16 years, as vice-president from 1987 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2000, and was a one-time candidate for the presidency of the organization. Pound revolutionized the Olympic movement using such deals to transform the IOC into a multibillion-dollar enterprise. He became known as an outspoken critic of corruption within the IOC, while at the same time supporting the leadership of IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch. His criticisms were given a wide airing after the scandals surrounding the Salt Lake City Olympics broke, and he was then appointed head of the inquiry into the corruption. He also campaigned vehemently for stronger drug testing. Within the ISO, Pound has been in a variety of positions throughout the years, he was Member of the Executive Board (1983-1987, 1992-1996), Vice-President of the IOC (1987-1991, 1996-2000), Chairman of the following Commissions: Protection of the Olympic Games (1981-1983), Television Rights Negotiations (1983-2001), Marketing (1988-2001), Coordination for the Games of the XXVI Olympiad in Atlanta in 1996 (1991-1997), Olympic Games Study (2002-2003), Vice Chairman of the Eligibility Commission (1990-1991). As well as being a member of the following Commissions: Preparation of the XII Olympic Congress (1988-1989), Protection of the Emblems (1974-1977), Eligibility (1984-1987), Olympic Movement (1983-1991, 1992-1999), Programme (1985-1987), Juridical