Samaranch back in Sydney after wife's death

SYDNEY — Less than four days after leaving to be with his dying wife in Spain, IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch returned Wednesday for the remainder of the Sydney Games.

"I'm very pleased to be back," Samaranch said. "I felt I had the responsibility to return as soon as I could. I'm looking forward to seeing some competition."

Samaranch, attending his last games as International Olympic Committee president, left Sydney the morning after presiding over Friday's opening ceremony and flew to Barcelona to be at the bedside of his wife, Maria Teresa. But Maria Teresa Samaranch, who had been suffering from cancer, died shortly before her husband arrived.

Samaranch returned to Sydney on the private jet of Mario Vazquez Rana, the Mexican IOC member and media magnate.

"He looks well and self-assured," Australian IOC vice president Kevan Gosper said of Samaranch. "I'm absolutely delighted he's back. It's where he belongs, where his wife would want him to be. It's good for him."

"While these are personally painful days, I am grateful to be back in Sydney, accompanied by my daughter Maria Teresa," Samaranch said in a statement. "I look forward to resuming my Olympic duties and . . . doing all I can toward the success of these wonderful games."