Robert Helmick

Robert Hanna Helmick (March 5, 1937 – April 15, 2003) was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the president of the International Swimming Federation from 1984 to 1988, and of the United States Olympic Committee from 1985 to 1991. He was forced to resign from the latter role after alleged conflicts of interest involving his law firm's clients were reported. the son of Drake University physics professor and mathematics teacher Dorothy Helmick. He attended Roosevelt High School, where he played on the school's water polo team.

In 1969, Helmick was chosen to chair the Men's Water Polo Committee of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). He managed the United States men's national water polo team during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where the team won the bronze medal. The following year, he was elected as the second vice president of the AAU. Helmick was promoted to first vice president in 1976 and president of the AAU in 1978. and was elected president of the USOC on March 22, 1985. In June of that year, he was elected as one of the two U.S. delegates to the International Olympic Committee during the 90th IOC Session in East Berlin, replacing Douglas Roby.

As president of the USOC, Helmick pressed for greater financial support for America's Olympic athletes. The Olympic Overview Commission recommended tuition assistance for top college athletes and cash payments to amateurs needing time to train, and these changes were later credited as aiding the success of U.S. athletes at subsequent Olympics.

The matter was first publicly reported by USA Today and The New York Times on September 5, followed by a more detailed description of Helmick's dealings in USA Today on September 6. This report was released the day before a USOC board meeting in Chicago on September 7, which was devoted almost entirely to discussion of how to handle the controversy.

The USOC appointed former Deputy Attorney General Arnold Burns as special counsel to review Helmick's records for any misconduct. On September 13, USA Today reported that Helmick had admitted to two more relationships with clients that had not previously been disclosed. Altogether, these clients had paid Helmick more than $277,000 for his consulting services. The following day, although he continued to deny that there had been any conflict of interest, Helmick announced that he would not run for re-election as USOC president in 1992, stepping down at the end of his term. On September 18, facing criticism from U.S. sport federation leaders, Helmick resigned from the presidency of the USOC.

Before the allegations, Helmick had been an influential member of the IOC and was considered a potential successor for IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch. The IOC began its own investigation into Helmick's conduct and, after the publication of the Burns report, was expected to discuss potentially removing him from his post in a meeting at its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, on December 6.

Helmick continued to serve as a member of the USOC board as president emeritus for the remainder of his life. He died on April 15, 2003, at a Des Moines hospital after suffering a stroke. Helmick Commons, a building at his alma mater Drake University, was named after him in 2002.