体坛英语新闻：Former IOC chief Samaranch dies at 89, Rogge pays tribute

He Zhenliang, the Honorary President of the COC and one of China's most famous sports figures, was deeply saddened by the death of Samaranch, whom he worked with for 20 years since he was elected to the IOC in 1981.

"The Olympic Movement lost a great leader, China lost a close friend and I lost a very close friend and an old brother," said the 80-year-old He, a former IOC vice president.

And awarding the 2008 Olympics to Beijing was widely regarded as one of Samaranch's final legacies at the end of his Olympic reign in 2001.

"Samaranch has made great efforts to help China regain the positions in IOC and other international sports organizations. He also made great efforts to support China to have a bigger say in the international sports arena," He said.

"We can never forget President Samaranch's help in Beijing's successful bid and the exceptional success of the 2008 Olympic Games. When the preparations for the Beijing Olympics was disturbed by some political factors, he always firmly stood behind us," He told Xinhua in a telephone interview.

One of his last public appearances was on March 4 this year when was awarded Hispano-Chinese Foundation prize for his time as President of the Hispano-Chinese Forum, which he had led since November 2001.