Reuters Sports Editor Steve Parry Dies

Steve Parry, Reuters sports editor for nearly two decades and veteran of 10 summer Olympics, has died, just one day before the 2008 Beijing games commence.

Parry, 64, Reuters sports editor from 1982 to 2000 and a member of the International Olympic Committee press commission during that time, died from a respiratory illness in north London.

After retiring from Reuters following the 2000 Sydney games, Parry became a consultant, working for the IOC and as a media adviser for London's successful 2012 Olympics bid.

Reuters sports editor Paul Radford, Parry's former deputy and friend, said: "We at Reuters are devastated by the news. Steve was one of the finest journalists Reuters ever had and one of the greatest men I ever knew.

"He was one of the most revered and respected personalities in the world of sports journalism and a monumental figure in the Olympic movement."

Parry had been working as a press operations consultant for the organisers of the London games and was advised by doctors not to make the trip to Beijing.

He joined Reuters in 1966 and covered his first Olympics in Mexico City in 1968.

Appointed sports news editor in 1977, Parry was promoted to sports editor in 1982 and expanded its role, appointing the first sports correspondents based abroad.

Parry is survived by his wife, Di, and their daughter, and two sons from an earlier marriage.

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