German Rieckehoff Sampayo

Germán Rieckehoff Sampayo
Former president of the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee.
Born	February 5, 1915 Vieques, Puerto Rico
Died	September 2, 1997 During a Medevac flight between Lausanne, Switzerland and San Juan, Puerto Rico
Nationality	Puerto Rican
Occupation	President of the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee.
Spouse(s)	Irma de Rieckehoff Sampayo
Children	Angelita, Germán and Juan Adolfo Rieckehoff
Notes
Oversaw construction of the "Olympic Village" in Carolina, Puerto Rico for the VIII Pan American Games, held in Puerto Rico in 1979 and the "Germán Rieckehoff Albergue Olímpico" in Salinas, Puerto Rico.

Germán Rieckehoff (February 5, 1915 – September 2, 1997) was a Nationalist and later President of Puerto Rican Olympic Committee.

Rieckehoff (birth name: Germán Rieckehoff Sampayo) was born in Vieques, Puerto Rico. He was raised in a homestead owned by his parents. His parents, who were descendents of Germans who settled in the island, were poor farmers (Jíbaros) who provided him with his basic needs and a good education. A relative, Carlos Vélez Rieckehoff, was an important leader of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and he followed the cause of independence himself.

Rieckehoff was an athletic youth and when young he was an expert swimmer. In 1947, Rieckehoff founded an association of Viequenses to fight the presence of the U.S. Navy on the island of Vieques. He enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico where he earned his law degree. It was during his university years that he became involved with the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee, eventually becoming the president of the Committee. He was a member of the 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games organizing committee.

In 1980, the United States boycotted the Olympic Games celebrated in Moscow, Russia. Rieckehoff was against the boycott because he believed that politics should not get involved with sporting events. He was, therefore, denied economic support from the local government. Rieckehoff did however, manage to send one athlete to represent Puerto Rico. Alberto Mercado, became the only United States citizen to participate in the 1980 Olympics in the boxing event.

In 1982, the Government of Puerto Rico, headed by then governor Carlos Romero Barceló, withheld economic support from the athletic delegation headed to Cuba, where the Central American and Caribbean Games were going to be held. The Puerto Rican Olympic Committee, under the leadership of Rieckehoff, had to appeal directly to the people for donations and were able to send the delegation.