Alex Gilady, a longtime International Olympic Committee(IOC) member from Israel breathed his last at 79. He was an Israeli media pioneer who also previously served as a senior vice president of NBC Sports. His demise was confirmed by IOC as the body announced Gilady’s death on Thursday. IOC member John Coates of Australia said Gilady died on Wednesday in London.
The cause of Alex Gilady’s remains unknown
No cause of death was given. However, it has been reported that he died at a hospital in London from cancer late on Thursday, as per the Israeli business paper The Marker. Gilady worked in television for much of his career after playing football and basketball. He was appointed to the radio and television commission in 1984 and he became an IOC member 10 years later, according to the Olympic body.
“With the passing of Alex Gilady we are losing a pioneer of the modern Olympic movement, particularly in regard to broadcasting, but also far beyond that,” IOC president Thomas Bach said. “He has always stood up for the Olympic values, often when sometimes the situation was not easy for him.”
“We are losing a pioneer of the modern Olympic Movement” IOC President Thomas Bach said of Gilady’s passing. He has always stood up for the Olympic values, often when sometimes the situation was not easy for him,” he added.
Alex Gilady was a former sports executive at U.S. network NBC and was the first Israeli journalist to report from Egypt in 1977 ahead of the signing of a landmark peace treaty with its Arab neighbour. He received the Israeli Broadcasting Association’s “Man of the Year” award that year.
In 1993 he founded Keshet Media Group, which grew into one of the country’s major media production companies. Gilady was also elected as an IOC member in 1994. He served on the commissions organizing each of the games from Athens in 2004 until Paris in 2024, according to the Olympic Committee.
The IOC said the Olympic flag will be flown at half-staff at the Olympic House in Lausanne for three days to honor Gilady.
