'No disloyalty'

U.S. backing for Vancouver's 2010 Winter bid

NEW YORK (AP) -- The president of the U.S. Olympic Committee believes four states supporting Vancouver's 2010 Winter Olympics bid are not being disloyal to New York's bid for the 2012 Games, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

William Martin said he wasn't worried about the support for Vancouver shown by the legislatures of Alaska, Oregon, Idaho and Washington.

"It's natural and appropriate for those states to support Vancouver," Martin told the newspaper. "I understand it. Michigan does things in cooperation with Ontario."

Earlier this year, the legislatures of those four states passed resolutions backing the Vancouver bid. The United States does not have a city in the running for those Olympics.

Washington State Rep. Jeff Morris insisted those resolutions are smart business decisions for the Pacific Northwest states.

"There's no disloyalty," Morris said. "Having the Olympics in New York would have no impact on us, but there's a regional benefit to the entire region if the Olympics are in Vancouver."

Vancouver is one of three finalists for the 2010 Games, along with Salzburg, Austria, and Pyeongchang, South Korea, and is considered the favorite. The International Olympic Committee's selection will be made on July 2.

Martin said if the IOC chooses Vancouver's bid, it should have no impact on the New York bid for 2012.

"You have Athens (in 2004) and Turin (in 2006) and how far apart are they?" he said. "The IOC has shown it's not an issue."

Kitzbuehel could scupper Salzburg bid

VIENNA (Reuters) -- The Austrian ski resort of Kitzbuehel is considering withdrawing as a venue for Salzburg's bid to stage the 2010 Winter Olympics, a move that would rob the Austrian candidacy of its jewel in the crown.

Kitzbuehel, home to the famed Hahnenkamm race which is the climax of the men's Alpine ski season, is put out that the bid committee has moved the curling venue from the Tyrolean resort to Salzburg city.

Salzburg is competing against Canada's Vancouver and Pyeongchang in South Korea for the Games, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will announce the winner of the race on July 2 in Prague.

Last week, the IOC released its evaluation report on the candidates and in Salzburg's case expressed concern about the scope of accommodation, the sprawling sports venue network and its concept for the Paralympics.

In response to the criticism Salzburg drew up an amended plan, which included the proposal to hold the curling in the SAZ Arena, already in place in Salzburg. The supervisory board of the Salzburg bid blessed the revamped concept Monday.

Kitzbuehel mayor Horst Wendling said Wednesday that the supervisory board was not empowered to make changes to the sporting venues and that their vote equalled a breach of contract.

"The city of Kitzbuehel demands that the curling events are held here. Contracts with Salzburg and the Austrian Olympic Committee cannot be broken," Wendling said in a statement.

Mayor's office spokeswoman Andrea Perger said the well heeled resort was considering whether to pull out as a host city if its demands were not met.

The original bid concept had Kitzbuehel staging 11 events in the men's Alpine skiing, freestyle and curling.

 

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Both the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.