The Cuban Olympic Committee (COC) mourned the death of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President of Honour Juan Antonio Samaranch, who passed away on Wednesday.

COC President Jose Ramon Fernandez sent a letter to the IOC President Belgian Jacques Rogge and described Samaranch's death as a sensitive lost for the world of sports.

Fernandez expressed his condolences to Samaranch friends and family, and stressed Samaranch's work in favour of the olympic development in the world.

The Cuban official added that the late IOC President achieved the best medal a human being can aspire to win: an honourable place in history.

Samaranch, 89, IOC President from 1980 to 2001, died Wednesday in his home city Barcelona, due to heart failure.