Heads continue to roll at the American Olympic Committee. The next one on the departure list will leave a certain void. Larry Probst, 68, president of the USOC since October 2008, announced his decision to leave on Monday, September 10. He will relinquish the position on December 31.
After Scott Blackmun, the executive director, resigned in February 2018, the American Olympic movement will soon lose another pillar. In both cases looms the shadow of Larry Nassar, the former doctor of the American Gymnastics Federation, sentenced to 60 years in prison for sexual abuse of 265 gymnasts.
Officially, Larry Probst's departure is not directly linked to the Nassar affair. “ I think a 10 year lease is long enough for a volunteer role full time ", he replied Monday, during a telephone press conference, to the question of the reasons for his decision. For sure.
But the American leader returned at length to the bankruptcy of the American sports authorities, led by the USOC, in the Larry Nassar affair. “ We have failed our athletes, he explained. I'm at the top of the food chain, so I take things very personally. We have said many times that we are truly sorry for what happened. We must focus all our attention on athlete safety"
Larry Probst leaves, Susanne Lyons arrives. A member of the USOC board of directors since 2010, she was immediately designated to take the vacant seat of president on January 1, 2019. A logical choice. The American took over as interim director of the organization last March, after the departure of Scott Blackmun. She then gave way to Sarah Hirshland, a defector from the American Golf Federation, recruited in July to take over as director of the USOC.
« Now is the perfect time to hand over responsibility to Susanne, suggested Larry Probst. The work she accomplished for several months as general director convinced me, without a shadow of a doubt, that she was the best person to replace me. Now is the time for the next generation of leaders to tackle the challenges facing our organization"
A sometimes distant, even haughty character, Larry Probst leaves room by being able to boast of having brought the USOC to very respectable heights. During his decade of presidency, the United States topped the medal rankings at the Games in Vancouver in 2010, London in 2012, Rio in 2016. Larry Probst also led negotiations with the IOC on the new sharing of medals. revenues from marketing and television rights. Finally, he was a major player in Los Angeles' bid campaign for the 2024/2028 Games.
By leaving the USOC, the American is not only abandoning a national function. Larry Probst also renounces his status as an IOC member, a position he inherited in 2013 within the college of national Olympic committees.
For the United States, the blow is severe. With the departure of Larry Probst, the American Olympic movement will only have two members within the Olympic institution: Anita DeFrantz and Kikkan Randall. The first holds the position firmly, she sits on the executive committee and has held the seat of vice-president since last year. But the second, Olympic cross-country skiing champion last February, is among the most novice, since she was elected to the athletes' commission during the PyeongChang 2018 Games.
With only two members, the United States could lose part of its influence, at least politically, within the IOC. Unless it is proposed to Larry Probst to retain his place, in the near future, as an individual member. The American is due to meet Thomas Bach at the end of this month, before meeting Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah during the IOC session next October in Buenos Aires. A double exchange during which his future in the Olympic movement could be widely discussed.
