Patrick Hickey (judoka)
Patrick Hickey (born 17 June 1945) is an Irish ex-judo athlete and current president of the European Olympic Committee. He is also a member of the Executive Board of the IOC.[1]
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Career
Hickey studied at the Institute of Property Valuers.[1]
Sports
Hickey has represented Ireland internationally at judo and is a black belt.[1]
European Games
Hickey was instrumental in setting up the European Games as a rival to the European Athletics Championships. The inaugural Games were held in Baku, Azerbaijan in June 2015. Hickey had tried, in the words of Guardian reporter Nick Cohen, to woo Belarus. "He charmed Alexander Lukashenko and gave [him] an award for his “Outstanding Contribution to the Olympic Movement” . His flattery was in vain. Lukashenko’s ill-governed country was too poor to afford the games."[2] Instead Hickey turned to "Azerbaijan, whose ruling Aliyev [family will spend whatever] it takes to win international prestige."[2] This has led to heavy criticism of the Games with organisations such as Sport for Rights calling for athletes to speak out against human rights violations in Azerbaijan. Many regime opponents were jailed in the run-up to the Games.[2]
