Torched by Sydney – redeemed by Beijing: Kevan Gosper’s whirlwind Olympic life

For the first time the full story behind the Sydney Olympic Torch saga is revealed by Editor at Large Louise Evans, who looks back at the notable life of the main protagonist, sporting and corporate powerbroker Kevan Gosper.

Before the Sydney 2000 Olympic Torch scandal erupted Kevan Gosper AO, who died on July 19 after a sudden illness aged 90, was considered a civic, corporate and sporting hero.

In corporate life Gosper was a captain of global industry: a key player in developing the 1980s North West Shelf LNG export scheme, chairman and chief executive of Shell Australia (1980-1991); Director of Shell International in London (1991-93) and Melbourne’s Chief Commissioner (1993-96).

While working in Papua New Guinea as Shell’s Area Manager in 1961-63 Gosper helped train and equip PNG’s first Commonwealth Games squad and traveled with a team of eight athletes as Chef de Mission to the 1962 Perth Games, an experience that blossomed into a lifetime of sports administration.

Following his own athletic success as an Olympic 400m silver medallist at the 1956 Melbourne Games, Gosper worked in sports administration becoming the inaugural chairman of the Australian Institute of Sport (1980-85); Australian Olympic Federation president (1985-1990) and Vice-President of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Organising Committee (1993-2000). He was named an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1986.

At global level he worked for the International Olympic Committee for 37 years, rising from being an ordinary member 1977-2013 to the Executive Board 1986-1990 and 1995-1999, Vice-President 1990-1994 and 1999-2003 and Press Commission Chairman 1989-2014.

The five key pillars of his life – medal-winning athlete, corporate captain, civic leader, Olympic executive and committed family man were scheduled to align into a glorious rainbow at the start of the Sydney Olympic Torch relay in May 2000. 

But it went horribly wrong when the Sydney 2000 Olympic Torch saga engulfed Gosper’s child Sophie and left him professionally and personally scarred. Overnight Gosper unfairly became the most vilified man in Australia, labelled a reptile on the front page of Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper, owned by Rupert Murdoch who Gosper believed had been gunning for him.

Gosper admitted as he approached his 90th birthday that the torch saga could have been avoided and that he missed a series of red flags that led to his reputation being shredded.

The first red flag was waved by Greek IOC member Lambis Nikolau, who in January 2000 invited Gosper’s 11-year-old daughter Sophie to run in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Torch Relay which started in Olympia, Greece. Gosper readily accepted Nikalau’s story that a happy young Australian girl like Sophie was the perfect image for an Australian Olympic torch relay.

Critically, Gosper didn’t clear the invitation with his Australian Olympic chiefs, a decision he lived to regret.  

Looking back Gosper realised Nikolau wanted his support to be elected to the IOC executive board with his Sophie torch offer, as Gosper was on the executive board and an IOC vice president.

When Gosper, his wife Judy and his daughter Sophie arrived in Athens for the torch relay in May 2000, having been told Sophie would be one of the torch runners over the first two days of the relay, they were advised that Sophie would be the first non-Greek jogger to take the torch after it was lit.

Gosper believed this was inappropriate and too big a responsibility. He requested Sophie be the third or fourth or fifth runner – not the first. Nikolau refused, saying Sophie had to be the first non-Greek runner. That was the second red flag Gosper admitted he missed.

There was no hint of the coming media cyclone when the Gospers, together with Sydney Olympic Minister Michael Knight and fellow Australian IOC members Phil Coles and John Coates, attended a Greek Olympic reception in Athens the day before the torch lighting ceremony.

But when Sophie’s involvement reached the Australian media overnight all hell broke loose. The first Australian to run with the torch was supposed to be 15-year-old Sydney schoolgirl Yianna Souleles, a Greek-Australian who’d travelled with her classmates from Sydney to take part in the torch-lighting ceremony.

Gosper was accused in the media of using his influence to ensure his daughter was the first Australian runner ahead of Yianna.

Murdoch’s Daily Telegraph newspaper struck a harsh blow on May 12, 2000 turning Gosper’s name into an ugly full page-one acronym: GOSPER: Greedy, Obstinate, Selfish, Pompous, Egotistic, Reptile. 

Gosper woke in Athens to a potentially career-ending drama engulfing his family. He went to Nikolau and asked that Sophie swap with the Greek-Australian girl Yianna. Nikolau refused. Could they run together? No, it was set in stone.

Gosper was hurt, angry and blindsided but he refused to take Sophie out of the relay to save his own skin, a decision he never regretted. He lashed out at the media and admitted he performed poorly.

 “I apologised for my reaction and the furore the incident caused, not for letting Sophie run, she was an 11-year-old girl,” Gosper said.

Gosper believed the Murdoch media went after him because he’d intervened to stop Gary Pemberton – then president of the 2000 Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) –  attempting to sell the Sydney Games broadcast rights to Murdoch’s British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB).

 “It never occurred to me that there would be repercussions for blowing the whistle on these negotiations as I had a friendly relationship with Murdoch for more than a decade in the lead-up to the Sydney Games. I was shocked by the brutality of the media’s revenge,” Gosper said.

Murdoch’s team either ignored or was misinformed that the broadcast rights were owned by the International Olympic Committee, not SOCOG. But that didn’t stop Murdoch’s BSkyB chief executive, the late Sam Chisholm, and Pemberton from meeting and beginning discussions.

When Gosper said he learned about the Pemberton/Chisholm negotiations he reminded Pemberton that Games television rights rested solely with the IOC. Gosper said Pemberton chose to ignore his advice, believing SOCOG could secure a better deal from the Murdoch group. As both an IOC and SOCOG Vice President, Gosper felt compelled to inform his IOC boss Juan Antonio Samaranch, who was committed to a free-to-air TV broadcast deal for the Sydney Olympics. 

In hindsight Gosper believes his intervention resulted in a black mark against his name in the Murdoch media’s book. He admitted he made some mistakes but believed he did not deserve to have his reputation so thoroughly trashed by the Murdoch media and resented being so viciously and publically vilified.

 “The media frenzy caused many Australians to condemn me for allowing Sophie to run with the Olympic torch,” Gosper said. “I don’t blame them because they were never presented with the facts and the media campaign – led by the Murdoch media – was incongruous with the situation and was aimed at destroying me personally and professionally.”

It was an agony and an ache which the Gosper family eventually put behind them.

Eight years later Gosper’s reputation was restored when he almost single-handedly defeated the volcanic force of the IOC and the Communist Party to guarantee media freedom at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The 2008 Beijing Games were the IOC’s first opportunity to guarantee freedom of speech, the media and the internet in a command, communist society which continues to impose rigid internal constraints on freedom of expression, movement and association.

As head of the IOC press commission Gosper was given assurances by Beijing that it would pass major legislative changes to existing communications laws to ensure a free and open internet at the Olympics.

It meant that the famous great internet wall of China, the official electronic blocking of a raft of websites, would be lifted when the world came to play at the Beijing Games.

“I insisted that the internet would be uncensored and free to air,” Gosper said. “By the time the press operations opened for business in late July 2008 however, it was clear that the internet was very slow, not reliable and apparently blocking communications.”

When Beijing chiefs alleged they had an agreement with the IOC regarding some restrictions on internet transmissions, Gosper came under immediate and intense fire from the international media with accusations he had misled and lied to them.

Gosper stood resolute, refused to bow to Beijing and the IOC and fought for what he believed was right – free and open media at the Games.

By being brutally open and honest with the media, Gosper played a brilliant game of brinkmanship forcing either the IOC to strong arm Beijing into submission or for Beijing to bend. In doing so Gosper had a major public stoush with his IOC president Jacques Rogge – and won.

As he approached his 90th birthday in December 2023, Gosper said he considered the Sydney 2000 Olympics to be his crowning glory. He was involved in every bid to bring the Olympics to Australia since 1980 and from November 1990 was a member of the executive team that won the Sydney 2000 Games bid and delivered what’s globally acknowledged as one of the greatest Olympics of the modern era.

Herb Elliott, Australia’s esteemed 1960 Olympic 1500m champion, sent Gosper a heartfelt tribute for his 90th birthday, praising him as an international captain of sport and industry. “He’s a natural leader and was always available to give advice or help,” Elliott said. “His ability to organise and communicate was recognised and utilised by the IOC, where he served in management positions for many years. 90 good years Kevan.” 

Gosper died on July 19 surrounded by family after a sudden illness aged 90.

He was survived by his wife Judy, sons Dean, Brett, Richard, and daughter Sophie.