LONDON -- The first IOC member resigned Tuesday in the growing Olympic bribery scandal -- not one of the committee's power brokers but a former sprint champion who said her only offense was being too naive.

Pirjo Haeggman of Finland, one of the first two women appointed to the International Olympic Committee, submitted her resignation in person to IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Haeggman is one of 13 members implicated in the investigation into allegations of misconduct by IOC delegates stemming from Salt Lake's winning bid for the 2002 Winter Games, the biggest corruption scandal in Olympic history.

While Haeggman was the first IOC member to resign since the scandal broke, three other Olympic officials have also quit. They are Salt Lake Organizing Committee President Frank Joklik and Senior Vice President Dave Johnson, and Alfredo La Mont, the U.S. Olympic Committee's senior director of international relations.

Haeggman is only the second IOC member to resign in a scandal. Robert Helmick stepped down in 1991 as an IOC member and president of the U.S. Olympic Committee amid allegations of conflict of interest in contracts with sports associations.

In a statement from Helsinki, Haeggman denied any wrongdoing but said she could no longer function as an IOC member. She said she had been ''rash and perhaps naive in my trust in other people.''

Haeggman's ex-husband, Bjarne, reportedly worked briefly for the Salt Lake bid committee and for 20 months in an Ontario government job initiated by the Toronto committee bidding for the 1996 Summer Games.

Haeggman was among the nine IOC members accused of serious violations who faced possible expulsion, a senior Olympic official close to the investigation told The Associated Press.

Four other members have been cited for minor violations and face warnings or no sanctions at all, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The 13 members all received letters from IOC investigators asking to explain actions by themselves or members of their families. Tuesday was the deadline for replies.

Anita DeFrantz, a vice president from the United States and the highest ranking woman in IOC history, said she was surprised by Haeggman's action but glad a fellow former athlete had made the sacrifice.

''Who would've thought Pirjo would resign?'' said DeFrantz, a bronze medal rower in 1976. ''I guess it renews my belief in Olympians, that when she was called to task, she said 'All right, I have been judged guilty and I will resign.'''

Haeggman resigned four days before the IOC investigators, headed by vice president Dick Pound, are to meet in Lausanne to conclude their inquiry and make recommendations to the executive board.

The board can suspend any members found guilty of serious misconduct. A special general assembly has been called for March 17-18 to vote on expulsions.

The senior IOC official said the committee hoped other members facing expulsion would resign to avoid embarrassment.
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