OSLO – Svein Arne Hansen, the president of European Athletics and longtime organizer of the Bislett Games in Norway, has died.
He was 74.The Norwegian Athletics Association confirmed Hansen's death on Saturday, saying there had been several complications with his health after he suffered a stroke on March 15.“Many are mourning the loss of one of the sports leaders who has left indelible marks for 50 years in the service of sports,” the federation said.Hansen spent 24 years as director of the Bislett meet in the Norwegian capital, Oslo — often a venue for distance-running world records — and 12 as president of Norway's track and field federation.