IOC mourns death of Chinese sports reporter Gao Dianmin (updated 2)

The International Olympic Committee's press committee on Saturday mourned its Chinese member Gao Dianmin, who died on Friday while attending an Olympic meeting in PyeongChang.

Gao, 62, who has covered every edition of the Summer Olympics from 1984 to 2016, died of a heart attack on Friday afternoon.

During Saturday's press committee meeting that started with a moment of silence for Gao, Anthony Edgar, head of Media Operation for the IOC, hailed Gao as "extraordinary, a bridge between east and west media."

"We will remember him forever," Edgar said.

Edgar awarded Gao a five-ring Olympic sculpture, on which "Gao Dianmin, 20 years of outstanding service to the IOC press commission" were inscribed.

Former IOC vice president Kevin Gosper, who had also been chairman of IOC press commission as the press committee was known previously, spoke highly of Gao's contribution to the IOC and IOC press, saying his death was "a heavy loss for all of us".

Gianni Merlo, president of the International Sports Press Association, said he had received generous help from Gao, calling him "the representative" of Chinese sports journalists.

AFP sports chief Vincent Amalvy called Gao "a very respected journalist" and "a friend of us", saying he "created and maintained professional and friendly relationships" between AFP and Xinhua.

Lee Hee-beom, president of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, also expressed his condolences to Gao's family and to Xinhua News Agency, where he had worked for 39 years.

Lucia Montenarella, head of Olympic Information Service for the IOC; Steve Wilson, European Sports Editor of the Associated Press; Tom Curley, former AP president; Richard Palfreyman, IOC advisor, all paid their respects to Gao.

Gao joined Xinhua in 1977 after graduating from Dalian University of Foreign Languages. He had previously served at Xinhua as sports director and London bureau chief. He also served on the media committees of both the International Association of Athletics Federations and the International Volleyball Federation.

Gao, who mainly covered shooting, athletics and volleyball in his early career, was the first reporter in the world to break the news when Xu Haifeng won China's first ever Olympic gold medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

"Before the judge declared the result, I ran 30 to 40 meters into the media center and made a phone call to the editor," said Gao in an interview during the Rio Olympics. "In a time without the electronic scoring system, I was the first one to report China's first Olympic gold."

Gao was appointed as Xinhua sports director in 1998 and London bureau chief in 2011.

Gao also participated in the torch relay for the Athens, Beijing, London and Rio Olympics, along with covering eight Asian Summer Games from 1982 to 2010 and numerous world championships of different sports.

He is survived by his wife, Wang Ya, a daughter and a grandchild. Endit