Samsung China, Tibet Spring, China Post, Beijing Tourism Group, Taishan Sports, and La Caixa. In February 2013, the IOC voted to eliminate one sport from the Olympics. Although many experts predicted that the pentathlon would be removed due to its low popularity, wrestling, despite having a larger athlete and fan base, was removed instead. This was to start with the 2020 Summer Olympics. Samaranch was largely regarded as a major player in the decision, in part because of his conflict of interest with the UIPM, which would be damaged with the elimination of the pentathlon. By September, wrestling had been reinstated on grounds of its long history at the Olympics. In 2019, Samaranch received an honorary doctorate from Handong Global University in South Korea. As of 2022, Samaranch had been reelected as the IOC vice president, was on the IOC's Board of Directors, was a member of the Spanish Olympic Committee, and was chairman of the Organizing Committee for Beijing 2022. In 2020, Samaranch was firm in his belief that the Olympics should continue regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic, albeit with necessary restrictions and precautions, even if the vaccine did not become available before the event. Historically, Samaranch has supported the candidacy of Madrid as the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics as well as Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics despite experts' assertions that it would be the "most unsustainable games of all time" due to the amount of artificial snow needed. He was also a major proponent of holding the 2030 Winter Olympics in Barcelona-Pyrenees but the bid was officially pulled in June 2022 due to a lack of agreement between the governments of Aragon and Catalonia. Personal life Samaranch is married to Italian socialite Cristina Bigelli and together they have four children: Juan, Alessia, Matteo, and Allegra. Alessia is married to French financier Hadrien Forterre. Samaranch speaks Spanish, Catalan, Italian, French, and English. He and his family live in Madrid. References 1959 births International Olympic Committee members Spanish chief executives Spanish untitled nobility New York University Stern School of Business alumni Businesspeople from Catalonia Living people University of Barcelona alumni Businesspeople from Barcelona People from Barcelona Businesspeople from Madrid