A posthumous autobiography of François Carrard, first director-general of the International Olympic Committee, has been released by publisher Chiselbury.
The autobiography titled “By The Way” takes readers into the back rooms of the organization during one of the most formative periods in sports history, revealing stories of a man who helped shape the Olympic Movement into what it is today.
IOC President Thomas Bach describes Carrard in his foreword to the book as “one of the pillars of the phenomenon that is modern sport.”
From playing a role in the modernization of the IOC, the launch of the World Anti-Doping Agency and creation of the Court for Arbitration in Sport, through to leading the IOC administration in a period that saw the fall of the Soviet Empire and end of apartheid in South Africa, Carrard was a troubleshooter for several sports in crisis,and the architect of initiatives in sports governance and the fight against drugs as the right-hand man to three IOC presidents.
Carrard became the IOC’s first director general in 1989. He stayed in that position until 2003 and played a role in re-writing the Olympic Charter. He also made contributions to several other sports, including his role on FIFA’s reform commission and in advising the International Boxing Association, the International Swimming Federation and the Grand Prix Drivers Association.
Carrard died on January 9, 2022. The book is available on the Chiselbury website, as well as on Amazon, including a Kindle edition.