Manolo Romero
World Athletics is deeply saddened to hear that Manolo Romero, the founder of Olympic Broadcasting Services and former member of the IAAF Television Commission, died on Saturday (24) at the age of 81.
Born and raised in Seville, Spain, Romero was a pioneer in the sports broadcasting industry. His career started at Spanish broadcaster TVE and he attended his first Olympics in 1968 in Mexico City. He attended and worked at several sporting events in the decades that followed, and at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics he had the full oversight of the host broadcast operation. He held that role for all subsequent Games, up to and including London 2012.
Possessing a keen interest in technology, Romero was known for pushing boundaries and setting the standard in sports coverage.
Along with serving on the IAAF Television Commission for many years up to and including 2015, Romero also worked as World Athletics’ Television Delegate at numerous World Athletics Series events.
“Manolo inspired all sport to focus on the quality of broadcast to bring the magic and excitement of sport into millions of living rooms around the world,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. “He drove innovation in broadcast, working with broadcasters on new technology, new formats and consistency of output. His legacy will be the strides we all continue to make in innovation in what continues to be a fast moving broadcast and live-streaming landscape. We will miss his guiding hand but we will continue to make him proud.”
IOC President Thomas Bach described Romero as a legend in his field.
"Manolo Romero has left an indelible mark on the broadcast of the Olympic Games," said Bach. "As the founder of Olympic Broadcasting Services, the host broadcaster for the Games, Manolo was a legend and pioneer in the sports broadcasting industry and respected worldwide for his vision, technological expertise and overall passion for the Olympic Movement."
World Athletics