Former ICF President and secretary-general, Otto Bonn, was laid to rest in Budapest this week after he died at the age of 93.
The following is an excerpt from the official obituary.
Ottó Bonn was born in Monfalcone, Italy in 1926, where he lived with his family until the age of 12.
In the 1940s he was already pursuing canoe sprint in Hungary. An active member of the Hungarian and international canoe scene and the Olympic Movement, he took on many sport leadership roles.
He became a member of the ICF Board of Directors in 1954, then he was elected the European representative of the sport. From 1960 onward he served as the second, then from 1970 until 1990 he served as the first Vice President of the ICF. In 1988 he was elected the IF’s Secretary-General, a post he held for 12 years.
He played a prominent role in the Hungarian sports life as well. He was the Secretary General of the Organising Committee for the 1965 Summer Universiade and the 1966 European Athletics Championships in Budapest.
He participated at 13 Summer and one Winter Olympic Games as a sport leader. He played a significant role in the Hungarian Olympic Movement since the 1960s; he was a member of the HOC GA and Executive Board. Former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch awarded him the IOC Order of Merit at the 1995 IOC Session in Budapest, then he received the HOC Order of Merit in 2000.
He became the Honorary Secretary-General of the ICF, the Honorary President of the Hungarian Canoe Federation and the Honorary member of the HOC after his retirement. Bálint Vékássy, Hungarian Olympic Committee secretary-general, said that Ottó Bonn displayed the values of Olympism throughout his life.
“Since 1954 he spent almost half a century leading the ICF. The Helsinki 1952 Olympic Games was his first with many to follow, so he experienced the unparalleled 16 Hungarian gold medal tally and the first Olympic triumphs of Hungarian sprint canoeists first-hand."
ICF President, José Perurena Lopez, who considered Ottó Bonn a friend, mentor and teacher, recalled that the sport leader was an outstanding ambassador of the sport in every societal and business setting as he spoke five languages.
“The International Canoe Federation will never forget the efforts Ottó Bonn did for our sport. When we will celebrate the best sprint, slalom and para athletes this year in Tokyo, we will also have to take the time and express our gratitude to the man without whom our sport would not be what it is today.”
Hungarian Canoe Federation president, Gábor Schmidt, thanked the Spanish sport diplomat for travelling to Budapest for the funeral then lauded Ottó Bonn.
“The Olympic programme of the sprint discipline was finalised during his vice presidency. Together with József Péhl as head of the Competitive Sport Committee of the ICF, they put a lot of effort into solidifying the position of the 500m and 1000m events in the Olympic canoe sprint programme," he said.
"It was also during his time that the ICF succeeded in hosting the women’s K-4 events at the Olympics, one of the most successful Hungarian events. Slalom events were also introduced to Olympic Games when he was Secretary-General.”
