The former head of the IOC, Juan Antonia Samaranch, has died of cardio-respiratory failure at Quiron Hospital in his native Spain, hospital doctor Rafael Esteban confirmed Wednesday.

Samaranch had been admitted to the Barcelona hospital on Sunday with acute heart problems. He had suffered a number of health problems since stepping down from the IOC's top job in 2001, and had been in hospital several times.

News of his death has been met with sadness by the international sporting community. Current IOC head Jacques Rogge said he could not "find the words to express the distress of the Olympic family."

"We have lost a great man, a mentor and a friend who dedicated his long and fulfilled life to the Olympics," Rogge said.

Samaranch became IOC president in 1980 and held the post longer than anyone else, with the exception of Pierre de Coubertin. Samaranch is credited with helping bring the Olympics into the modern era.

Prior to assuming his IOC role, Samaranch held numerous public positions in Spain during the regime of dictator Francisco Franco. These included national delegate for sport and Barcelona provincial council president. He was also the Spanish ambassador to Moscow between 1977 and 1980.

His time at the IOC was not without scandal, however, after he became embroiled in a corruption row that hit the Olympics Committee in 1998-99. The matter centered on the build up to Salt Lake City's successful bid to host the 2002 Winter Olympics, which became dogged by allegations of vote buying.

Samaranch's critics also argued that he failed to deal adequately with the growing tide of drugs in sport. Despite this, he will undoubtedly be remembered as the man who helped transform the Olympic Games into the global enterprise they are today.

dfm/dpa/Reuters

Editor: Susan Houlton