Till Lufft Obituary, Death – Lufft was the first full-time officer in the capacity of European Athletics General Secretary, serving from January 1996 to November 2005. In addition to assisting with the delivery of the European Athletics Championships in Budapest in 1998 and Munich in 2002, he was responsible for significant growth in the organization during the ten years he was the chief executive officer – both in terms of personnel and activities – and oversaw the relocation of the European Athletics headquarters from Darmstadt, Germany to its current location in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Prior to joining European Athletics, Lufft served as the general secretary of the German University Sports Federation for over 20 years, from 1974 to 1995. He remained involved in collegiate sports throughout his life, serving as the FISU (International University Sports Federation) Technical Delegate for Athletics into his late 70s. Lufft was born in Zurich, Switzerland on December 19, 1940, and grew up in the German city of Braunschweig before studying law at the University of Göttingen, where he won the German universities 3000m steeplechase title in 1966. He was also a great hockey player and cross country skier, having played in the top flight of German hockey for BTHC Braunschweig and, after moving to Damstadt to finish his legal studies in 1970, being a member of the ASC Darmstadt team that won the German cross country skiing team relay title in 1974.
Many people who knew Lufft paid tribute to him, including European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov. “Till was a pivotal figure in the development and modernization of European Athletics. “During his tenure as General Secretary, his vision and ability helped develop European Athletics as one of the top continental sports federations,” Karamarinov remarked. “He will be remembered not just for his organizational and professional qualities, but also for his warm personality and love of our sport. After his retirement, he was always a very welcome guest at all of our events, and he will be sadly missed. European Athletics mourns his death.”