Anita DeFrantz

Anita Lucette DeFrantz (born October 4, 1952) is an American Olympic rower, member of the International Olympic Committee, and twice Vice-President of International Rowing Federation (FISA).

Anita DeFrantz
Personal information
National teamUnited States
Born (1952-10-04) October 4, 1952
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Medal record
Rowing
Representing the United States
Olympic Games
1976 Montreal Women's eight

Biography

DeFrantz was born in 1952 in Philadelphia, USA.[1] A member of the Vesper Boat Club in her home city,[1] she was captain of the American rowing team at the 1976 Summer Olympics winning the bronze medal in women's eight. In 1980 the United States boycotted the Moscow Olympic Games in Moscow, USSR, and, although DeFrantz had qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, she was unable to compete.[2][3] She was one of 461 athletes to receive a Congressional Gold Medal.

Board member

In 1986, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) appointed DeFrantz to membership in the organization. She became the first chair of the prototype of the IOC Women in Sport Commission in 1992, and the first female vice-president of the IOC executive committee in 1997, serving until 2001. On June 25, 2012, DeFrantz told AroundTheRings.com that she would like to return to the IOC Executive Committee.[4] She was elected back onto the IOC Executive Board on September 10, 2013 and she was elected to a four-year term as IOC Vice President at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru on September 15, 2017.[5]

DeFrantz is also on the board of the Al Oerter Foundation (AOF) which runs the Art of the Olympians[6] (AOTO) program which is an international organization of Olympian and Paralympian artists promoting the Olympic values and ideals through educational and cultural programs and exhibitions.[7]

Honors

In 1980, DeFrantz was awarded the Olympic Order for her contributions to the Olympic Movement.[8] In 2017, a plaque honoring her was unveiled in the L.A. Memorial Coliseum's Court of Honor.[9]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Anita DeFrantz". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  2. Caroccioli, Tom; Caroccioli, Jerry (2008). Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Highland Park, IL: New Chapter Press. pp. 243–253. ISBN 978-0942257403.
  3. "Oral History of Anita DeFrantz by the LA84 Foundation" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 11, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  4. "U.S. IOC Member Declares for Executive Board". Around The Rings. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  5. "IOC Session votes on Executive Board positions". Olympic Games. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  6. "Art of the Olympians | Anita DeFrantz". artoftheolympians.org. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  7. "Home". artoftheolympians.org. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  8. "MS ANITA L. DEFRANTZ". olympic.org. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  9. Latimer, Jolene (June 22, 2017). "Female Olympic Athletes Honored Over 50 Years Later | GOOD Sports". Sports.good.is. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
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