Former IOC member Leo Wallner of Austria dies at 79

VIENNA (AP) Leo Wallner, a former IOC member who led Austria's national Olympic movement for 19 years, has died. He was 79.

The Austrian Olympic Committee said he died early Wednesday, without revealing a cause of death.

''He has always served the interests of Austrian sports on national and international level and within the IOC with dignity and full commitment,'' said AOC president Karl Stoss, who succeeded Wallner in 2009.

A long-term general director of gambling company Casinos Austria, Wallner became president of the AOC in 1990, and member of the IOC eight years later.

Wallner resigned over alleged financial wrongdoing concerning Salzburg's failed bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, though state prosecutors dropped charges against him in 2013.

Wallner was elected an IOC honorary member in December.