In this paper, we explore the modernization of the role of President of theudInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) by analyzing the actions of three men whoudheld the position during the 20th century: Pierre de Coubertin, Avery Brundage, andudJuan Antonio Samaranch. Employing Weber’s concept of charismatic authority, andudconsidering its connections to, and congruence with, contemporary understandingsudof political celebrity, we examine how each of these men mobilized their influenceudand authority to reinvigorate the political energy of Olympic sport and benevolentudOlympism, particularly in times of crisis and/or apathy. In turn, we illustrate howudthe IOC under Samaranch came to embrace celebrity culture and spectacle in a wayudthat solidified the organization’s legitimacy, power and influence amidst theudchallenges of governance posed by late modernity. Our central argument is that alludthree of these men were charismatic leaders, in the Weberian sense, and that theyudmobilized this authority using the forms, means and opportunities of powerudparticular to their respective time periods. In turn, the extent to which they can beudconsidered political celebrities should be considered against the ‘routinizedudauthority’ that has become ascribed to the position of the IOC President itself.
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