Basketball family and global sports community honors Patrick Baumann at memorial service
A memorial service in honor of FIBA Secretary General and IOC Member Patrick Baumann took place at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Lausanne, Switzerland on Friday afternoon
LAUSANNE, Switzerland - A memorial service in honor of FIBA Secretary General and International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member Patrick Baumann took place at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Lausanne, Switzerland on Friday afternoon.
Mr Baumann passed away on October 13.
Joining Mr Baumann's family in paying tribute to him were: a FIBA delegation consisting of executives and staff from its headquarters, regional offices and FIBA partners; IOC colleagues; officials from the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) and the Lausanne 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games' Organizing Committee - bodies of which Mr Baumann was the president.
FIBA President Horacio Muratore, IOC President Thomas Bach, Lausanne Mayor Grégoire Junod, Canton of Vaud State Councillor Philippe Leuba and Swiss Federal Council Member and Sports Minister Guy Parmelin gave stirring and moving speeches as they recalled their colleague and friend.
FIBA President Horacio Muratore
Mr Muratore said: "To me, above all else, he was a friend, a real friend I could always count on. He was also a husband and father, for whom family was paramount. As Patrick himself used to say: 'We are and always will be a team sport. This is really true to my heart. The word team means that in order to succeed, we have to work together'. Without Patrick, basketball would not be the global sport it is today. Thanks to his passion, his continuous commitment, his work ethic combined with his wonderful personality, Patrick made his mark in the history of FIBA and that of world basketball. Patrick felt strongly that sport had the power to change lives."
The service brought together members of the sports family from all corners of the world to pay their respects to the deceased Mr Baumann.
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To the attention of the media: Click here for a video news of the memorial service, here for a selection of photos of the service (for editorial purposes only; to be credited as 'courtesy of FIBA' when used) and here for the speeches.
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About FIBA
FIBA (fiba.basketball) - the world governing body for basketball - is an independent association formed by 213 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognised as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
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