IOC member Anita DeFrantz takes new role in L.A. Olympic bid

Anita DeFrantz, a longtime International Olympic Committee member from Los Angeles, has expanded her role in the campaign to bring the 2024 Summer Games to this city for a third time.

The LA 2024 bid committee on Thursday named DeFrantz as senior advisor for legacy, charging her with finding ways to make the Games benefit the region long after the 17-day competition ends.

The former Olympic rower recently stepped down as head of the LA84 Foundation, which has used profits from the 1984 Los Angeles Games to spend hundreds of millions on local sports programs.

“From our operation of the largest sports research library in North America to our recent unveiling of the first phase of a major renovation to the city’s largest soccer facility, the 26-acre Ferraro Fields soccer complex at Griffith Park, the LA84 Foundation’s work is living proof of the type of Olympic legacy that is possible for a city,” DeFrantz said in a statement.

LA 2024 Chairman Casey Wasserman said: “Anita has already been an important member of our team, and we are proud to welcome her to this new critical role.”