Marc Hodler, the Swiss International Olympic Committee member who blew the whistle on corruption in the Salt Lake City Olympics bidding process, died Wednesday, his family and the IOC said. He was 87.
Hodler, president of the international ski federation from 1951 to 1998, died in Bern after a "short, serious illness," his son Beat said.
Hodler's death came eight days before his 88th birthday.
"The IOC expresses its sadness at the passing of a member who dedicated so much to the Olympic movement," IOC president Jacques Rogge said in a statement after arriving on a visit to Tokyo. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Mr.
Hodler's family."
Hodler, an IOC member since 1963, set off the bid scandal that led to the biggest ethics crisis in the history of the International Olympic Committee.
In 1998, he detailed what he called systematic buying and selling of votes in the host city selection process for the 2002 Winter Games.
6 expelled, 4 resigned
The crisis led to an unprecedented purge of IOC members, with six delegates expelled and four resigning for receiving improper gifts or benefits.
The IOC also enacted a series of reforms, including a ban on visits by members to bidding cities.
Hodler, a lawyer, was an IOC vice-president from 1993 to 1997 and served three terms on the rule-making executive board.
Hodler was the first official to use the word "bribe" to describe the methods used by Salt Lake City to win the vote for the 2002 Games.
In November 1998, a Salt Lake television station obtained a leaked document disclosing that the city's Olympic bid team had set up a scholarship fund for the relatives of IOC members.
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