On the final day of the 20th edition of the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona, Wirz visited the cemetery on Montjuic hill where Samaranch is buried, close to the Olympic Stadium that hosted the 1992 Games and is now the venue for the ongoing championships.
“President Samaranch was pioneer in the sporting world and was a great man who made an outstanding and lasting contribution to our sport of athletics,” said Wirz.
The Spaniard was a great fan of athletics and attended all the World Championships since the inaugural edition in Helsinki in 1983.
Samaranch, who died aged 89, had pledged his support to the Barcelona 2010 Organising Committee ahead of the European Athletics Championships.
'I know that he was very excited about attending the European Athletics Championships and I was looking forward to seeing him there,' said President Wirz.
During his reign at the IOC from 1980-2001, Samaranch was widely considered as the most influential person in the sports industry.