Death of a Champion

Beijing commuters traveled with a virtual Juan Antonio Samaranch for months before the 2008 Summer Olympics turned their once-gated city into an open arena for international cooperation.

Samaranch's grandfatherly face appeared for a few seconds on a promotional clip for the Olympics that repeatedly played for commuters on subway car televisions. There he was in a jacket and tie, seated at a conference table, reading a page from an official International Olympic Committee (IOC) announcement declaring China's capital city the winner of a bid to host the 2008 Games.