Rolf von der Laage

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Rolf von der Laage (born August 23, 1932 in Herzogenrath ; † January 14, 2006 in Cologne ) was a German journalist , sports official and sports organizer.

Life

In his youth, Rolf von der Laage himself was an active athlete . He belonged to the Aachen TG and took part in the German youth championships in 1949. Then he started his journalistic activity. A first highlight was his coverage of the European Athletics Championships in Bern in 1954. He also studied Sinology at the University of Cologne . After completing his studies, von der Laage went to Asia as a correspondent for Deutsche Welle for twelve years and reported from almost every country on this continent.

Sports have always been of particular interest to him. Before the 1972 Olympics , he organized a training camp for Asian Olympians. There he met the Malaysian high jumper Gladys Chai , whom he married five years later. She became a sports photographer and they both set up the ASVOM agency in Cologne. Rolf von der Laage was very interested in Asian and especially Chinese athletics. He has written several books on this subject.

He was the deputy meeting director of the ASV sports festival in Cologne and was a member of the IAAF Grand Prix Commission from 1991 to 1995 . Until his death he was also a member of the press commission of the World Athletics Federation. At the “German Meetings” he worked in various functions across Germany.

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