Brundage, Avery

Brundage, Avery āˈvərē brŭnˈdĭj [key], 1887–1975, American sports executive, b. Detroit, Mich. A member of the 1912 U.S. Olympic track and field team, he became a leader of the Olympic movement and an unyielding spokesperson for amateur sports. As president of the U.S. Olympic Committee (1930–52), he defeated a proposed boycott of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. As president of the International Olympic Committee (1952–72), he is remembered for continuing the 1972 Munich games after their interruption by the terrorist massacre of Israeli athletes.

See J. Lucas, The Games Must Go On: Avery Brundage and the Olympic Movement (1980).

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