John Furlong (Canadian)
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John A. F. Furlong OC, OBC, LLD (hc), D.Tech (hc) |
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| Chief executive officer of Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games | |
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In office February 21, 2004 – December 31, 2010 |
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| Leader | Jacques Rogge |
| Preceded by | Valentino Castellani |
| Succeeded by | Dmitry Chernyshenko |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 12, 1950 Tipperary, Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish, Canadian |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Cook (m. 1970–76) Dayle Turner (1978–82) Gail Robb (m. 1984–2011) Deborah Sharp (m. 2012–her death 2013) Renee Smith-Valade (2014) |
| Residence | Vancouver |
| Occupation | Sports administrator |
| Website | johnfurlong |
John Furlong, OC,OBC (born October 12, 1950) is a Canadian administrator of sports organizations widely recognized for overseeing the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Paralympics as President and CEO of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC).
Currently, Furlong is the Chairman of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, a Major League Soccer team.
Experience leading to being appointed head of the 2010 Winter Olympics included roles as a physical education teacher and sports administrator in Ireland and in Canada. Furlong first lived in the Canadian province of British Columbia from 1969 to 1972 where he was a Catholic missionary and volunteer physical education teacher in Burns Lake and Prince George. He later served as a sports administrator at Newpark Comprehensive School in Ireland before emigrating to Canada in 1975. He was also president of Arbutus Club, a member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, and chaired BC Summer Games, BC Winter Games, and Sport B.C.
He has cited Canada as being possibly unique in appointing an immigrant to be CEO of their Olympic Games.
Although his performance and popularity led to recognition such as appointments to Order of Canada and Order of British Columbia, he is a controversial figure following the discovery of errors and omissions in his autobiography and allegations he had abused First Nations students.
Furlong chaired the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation (2001–04) and pitched Vancouver in Prague in its bid to the International Olympic Committee to host the Winter Games.
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