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European Athletics informs that Markku Vainikka, the Finnish television expert, passed away on Monday 7 December after losing his short but brave fight against a brain tumour and cancer.
Vainikka had most recently been working in his new post as European Broadcasting Union (EBU) television delegate for the 2010 European Athletics Championships.
He had already held this post for other international events, including the 1998 European Athletics Championships in Budapest and 2006 championships in Gothenburg.
Vainikka worked at Finland television station YLE for 23 years and was the Head of YLE Sports during his last years in the company.
He participated actively in television and sports activities both on a national and international level. He served for several years as Vice-President of the EBU Sports Group and during the last few years he supervised a number of important productions on behalf of the EBU.
European Athletics