Avery Brundage

Avery Brundage was like the captain of a giant sports team called the International Olympic Committee. For 20 whole years, from 1952 to 1972, he was in charge! He was the first American and the first person from outside Europe to get this super important job.

He really believed that only people who played sports just for fun, not for money, should be in the Olympics. He helped organize the big Olympic Games held in Germany in 1936 and 1972.

Avery grew up in Chicago. When he was young, he was a great athlete! He even went to the Olympics in 1912 to compete in running and jumping events, like the pentathlon and decathlon.

He didn't win a medal, but he was super fast and strong. Later, he started his own construction company and became very successful, earning lots of money. But he never took money for his work in sports because he believed in being an amateur.

Avery Brundage thought the Olympics should be about pure sportsmanship, not about making money or politics. He worked hard to make sure athletes were amateurs, meaning they didn't get paid. This was a big idea back then!

He also believed that the Olympics should continue even when difficult things happened, like during the 1972 Munich Olympics. He wanted the world to see that sports could bring people together.

Avery Brundage was a strong leader. He believed the Olympic Games were so important that they should always happen, no matter what. Even when something very sad and scary happened at the 1972 Munich Olympics, he decided the Games should continue.

He said, 'The Games must go on!' He wanted to show that sports could be stronger than sadness and fear. He was a very determined person who loved the Olympic spirit.