Long time advocate for clean sport – Harri Syväsalmi has passed away

Finnish media is reporting that Harri Syväsalmi at the age of 71. The Finnish sport leader was one of the founders of the World Anti-Doping Agency. He also held the position as General Secretary from 1999 until 2003.

In January 2024, Syväsalmi received the Taustavoima (contributor) Award at the Finnish Sports Gala.

Syväsalmi has had an extensive career in the development of sports ethics both internationally and nationally.

Harri Syväsalmi, who has a volleyball background, has worked in top positions in sports for almost 50 years. His diverse range of posts include, for example, Director of Athletes’ Village, IAAF World Championships in Athletics 1983 and the tasks of sport administration in the Ministry of Education and Culture.

At the turn of the millennium, Syväsalmi actively participated in the establishment of the World Anti-Doping Agency WADA. Founded in 1999, the organisation promotes, coordinates and monitors anti-doping activities in sport. Syväsalmi served as the organisation’s first Secretary General from 2000 to 2003, laying the foundations for globally unified anti-doping activities. The World Anti-Doping Code of the independent World Anti-Doping Agency WADA has been adopted by more than 700 sports organisations around the world.

From the world of anti-doping, Syväsalmi proceeded through various posts in Finland to the European Union and the Council of Europe (2011–2017) to develop an international convention to combat the manipulation of sports competitions. The aim of the agreement is to strengthen the integrity, ethics and fair competition of sports and to protect athletes. The objective is to establish a common legal framework for effective international co-operation to combat this global threat. Syväsalmi continued his work until 2017 by acting as the Chair of the Expert Group on Match-Fixing of the Council of Europe.

In Finland, Syväsalmi participated in the launch of the Finnish Center for Integrity in Sports (FINCIS) and served as the organisation’s Secretary General in 2016–2018. In his work, Syväsalmi was able to utilise both his strong anti-doping background and comprehensive expertise in the fight against competition manipulation.

Since retiring, Syväsalmi has held positions of trust in volleyball and participated in the EU’s international SAPIS (Strengthening Athlete Power in Sport) project. He played an active role in initiating the project, which aims to strengthen the voice of athletes in sports administration and create new approaches to the empowerment of athletes.

WADA mourns the passing of Syväsalmi

It is with great sadness that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) mourns the passing of its first Director General, Harri Syväsalmi, who passed away on 5 August in his home country, Finland, at the age of 71. 

WADA Director General, Olivier Niggli, said: “The global anti-doping community has lost a true pioneer. From the day WADA was founded, Harri had a clear vision for how the Agency could become the leader in the collaborative worldwide mission for clean sport. Many of WADA’s achievements have been built on Harri’s legacy. Moreover, Harri was a generous and wonderful person. It is a sad day for those who had the opportunity to work alongside him and call him our friend.” 

Mr. Syväsalmi joined WADA in 2000 and spent three years leading the Agency through its early formative years. During his time as Director General, he notably played an important role in the development and approval of the first version of the World Anti-Doping Code, in March 2003. Prior to WADA’s creation, he had played an instrumental role in the development of the Agency’s founding statutes, when he was the director of the Finnish Sports Division of the Ministry of Education.