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Sir Craig Reedie, who has died aged 84, was a cardinal fig successful London’s successful bid to shape nan 2012 Olympics. As a personnel of nan London Organising Committee for nan Olympic Games from 2005 to 2013, he formed a brilliantly effective run business pinch Sebastian Coe, nan bid leader, doing overmuch important activity down nan scenes, first by helping to triumph nan support of British politicians and past by marshalling nan all-important votes of Olympic delegates who would find wherever nan Games would go.
Coe, to whom Reedie was a long-time mentor, was nether nary illusion that without nan older man’s negotiated skills and influential beingness wrong nan Olympic and Paralympic movement, which he had developed earlier arsenic chair of nan British Olympic Association (BOA), London mightiness ne'er person won nan correct to big nan 2012 Games.
Reedie chaired nan BOA betwixt 1992 and 2005, and from 1994 was besides a personnel of nan International Olympic Committee (IOC), yet serving arsenic its vice-president from 2012 to 2016. A passionate advocator of drug-free title (“there’s nary constituent successful immoderate of it if nan athletics is not clean”), he became a laminitis committee personnel of nan World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) successful 2000, rising to beryllium its president from 2014 to 2019, and a thorn successful nan broadside of those who tried to summation advantage by taking capacity enhancing substances.
During his five-year word astatine Wada he fought many times pinch nan past IOC president Thomas Bach, who rejected Reedie’s statement that Russia should beryllium thrown retired of Olympic title erstwhile it had been proven that their athletes benefited from state-sponsored doping regimes.
Although nan IOC cleared immoderate Russian athletes to compete astatine nan 2016 Rio Olympics, Reedie refused to fto nan matter driblet – and 3 years later Wada ruled that nan Russian Federation should beryllium banned from each world competition, though immoderate of its athletes were capable to return portion successful nan Olympics nether a neutral flag.
Reedie remained utterly intransigent connected nan rumor of drugs: for him it was not a matter of adhering to lofty Corinthian values, but a elemental lawsuit of tackling cheats and showing that they would not beryllium allowed to prosper.
That beardown stance arose partially because Reedie, contempt his successes arsenic an administrator, was a sportsman astatine heart, having been a starring world badminton subordinate successful his younger days. He began his profession successful sports authorities pinch nan International Badminton Federation, of which he became president, and made an first sanction for himself by successfully campaigning for nan athletics to beryllium included successful nan Olympics.
Born successful Stirling successful cardinal Scotland, Craig was nan boy of Robert, an Inland Revenue surveyor, and his wife, Anne (nee Smith). He took up badminton astatine nan property of 10, first playing nan crippled successful a religion hall, while he besides played play pinch his begetter astatine Dunblane GC and was bully capable astatine rugby to look for nan first XV astatine Stirling precocious school.
At Glasgow University he played for nan badminton squad while studying history and law, and it was connected a sojourn to Belfast for a lucifer against Queens University successful 1962 that he met Rosemary Biggart, a aesculapian student who was playing for nan Queens lucky XI. Five years later they married, and they went connected to person 2 children, Colin and Catriona.
After assemblage Reedie became a partner successful a Scottish institution offering financial advice, and remained a financial consultant, based successful Glasgow, for nan remainder of his moving life.
His world badminton profession began successful 1962, erstwhile he was selected for Scotland. An particularly bully doubles player, he represented his state for nan adjacent 8 years, and besides appeared for Great Britain.
While still playing he became caput of nan Scottish Badminton Union successful 1966, and later its president, serving until 1981 while besides operating arsenic a assembly member, chair and president of nan International Badminton Federation (now nan Badminton World Federation) from 1970 to 1984.
After guiding nan Federation done a difficult play erstwhile warring factions threatened to divided nan organisation, his concerted lobbying for badminton’s inclusion successful nan Olympics bore consequence erstwhile successful 1985 nan IOC decided to let its introduction into nan 1992 Games. He besides helped to usher professionalism into badminton by allowing players to clasp prize money and introducing nan World Grand Prix circuit, now nan BWF World Tour.
It was Reedie’s administrative activity successful badminton that led him to beryllium appointed a assembly personnel and treasurer of nan General Association of International Sports Federations (1984–92), which successful move group him up for nan chairmanship of nan BOA. After contributing to Manchester’s unsuccessful bid for nan 2000 Olympics he joined nan London Organising Committee for nan 2012 Games. All of his sports management posts were fulfilled connected a voluntary unpaid basis.
Meeting Reedie was an experience. Tough, shrewd and formidably good informed, he knew his ain mind and was ever fresh to sound an opinion. Such qualities mightiness person rendered him boorish and intimidating, but nan truth was very different. He was witty, charming and unfailingly adjuvant to anyone who sought his advice.
Made CBE successful 1999, he was knighted successful 2006 and elevated to knight expansive transverse successful 2018. In 2014 Scotland’s refurbished nationalist badminton hub successful Glasgow was renamed nan Sir Craig Reedie Badminton Centre successful his honour.
He devoted overmuch of his leisure clip to honing his play game. A azygous fig handicapper, he was a fiercely competitory subordinate and a personnel of nan Royal and Ancient Club of St Andrews. After nan successful London bid he took immense pridefulness successful being asked to characteristic successful nan pre-2012 Games torch relay, carrying nan Olympic occurrence past nan Old Course astatine St Andrews, wherever he had spent truthful galore hours connected nan turf.
He is survived by his woman and 2 children.
