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Vancouver's victory IOC awards 2010 Winter Games to CanadaPosted: Wednesday July 02, 2003 9:47 AMUpdated: Wednesday July 02, 2003 7:29 PM
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) -- The Olympics are returning to North America in 2010. It's unsure they'll be back again two years later. Vancouver was awarded the 2010 Winter Games on Wednesday, taking the Olympics to Canada for the first time since 1988 and back to North America eight years after the games in Salt Lake City. "It'll be quite a show," Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien said. "We won the world, so hooray!" (Quotes) But the race was closer than expected, with outsider Pyeongchang, South Korea, coming within three votes of pulling off a stunning upset. The third bid city, Salzburg, Austria, was eliminated in the first round of the secret ballot by International Olympic Committee members. (Losers react) With a simple majority needed for victory, Pyeongchang got the most votes in the first round with 51, followed by Vancouver with 40 and Salzburg with 16. But Vancouver picked up Salzburg's votes in the next round and defeated Pyeongchang 56-53.
"It was a photo finish," Chretien said. "That's what is so great about sport. But winning is winning. I just want to guarantee everybody that it will be a great success." The election was marked by several unexplained uncast votes which could have swung the election the other way. Of 111 ballots distributed in the first round, only 107 were cast. In the second round, 109 out of 112 eligible voters cast ballots. The IOC said it was unsure why those members didn't vote. Had the missing four votes in the first round gone to Pyeongchang, the South Korean city would have won with a majority of 55. Had it received the extra three votes in the second round, the two cities would have tied 56-56. The words that Canada had waited to hear came from IOC president Jacques Rogge, who opened a white envelope and declared: "The International Olympic Committee has the honor of announcing that the 21st Olympic Winter Games are awarded to the city of Vancouver." The announcement was greeted with huge cheers from Vancouver boosters in the convention hall in Prague. And in Vancouver, wild cheering and flag-waving erupted among those gathered at a downtown arena. (Vancouver erupts) "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! We did it!" screamed Jennifer Goepel, 28, her face painted red and white with the Canadian maple leaf. Vancouver, whose "Sea to Sky Games" concept plans for events in the scenic Pacific coastal city and the ski resort of Whistler, had been considered the front-runner for most of the campaign. Vancouver was considered a top flight bid on technical merits alone. A recent IOC report gave Vancouver the best overall review, with high marks for its plans for sports venues, accommodations and financing. Canada's understated campaign focused on the technical strengths of its proposal, with most indoor venues in Vancouver and ski and sliding events at Whistler. "We made a decision that our program was going to be 100 percent about athletes and sport," bid president John Furlong said. "That's what we think tipped the scales for us." In the end, its victory may have been influenced by jockeying for a bigger prize -- the 2012 Summer Games. New York, Paris, London, Madrid, Moscow and others are in the running. Some members say Wednesday's result should help the Europeans' chances because back-to-back games in North America are unlikely. "It's not complicated," said senior Italian member Mario Pescante, head of the European Olympic Committees. "With five countries interested in the summer games, the majority of European IOC members preferred to have games outside Europe. This is a very political vote in view of the summer games." Canada has hosted two previous Olympics -- the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal and 1988 Winter Games in Calgary. The games of 2004 (Athens, summer) and 2006 (Turin, Italy, winter) are being held in Europe and 2008 (Beijing, summer) in Asia, leaving North America in line for 2010. "I think Salzburg was eliminated because of Athens and Turin," Swedish IOC board member Gunilla Lindberg said. "It wasn't their turn." That could make a difference in 2005 when the IOC votes on the 2012 host city. "It was the political card of 2012," said Gian-Franco Kasper, a Swiss IOC member who heads the international ski federation. "I heard more about 2012 here than 2010." Dan Doctoroff, leader of the New York bid, dismissed any geographic handicap. "[We are] completely agnostic about the outcome of this," he said. "From our particular perspective we really didn't feel like we had a stake in the outcome here. Ultimately we've got to do the job in 2005. Between winter and summer, there's no evidence that it's ever made any difference whatsoever. "We're 3,000 miles almost from Vancouver. The reality it takes longer to get from New York to Vancouver than it does from New York to London or Paris." Rogge also disputed any 2010-12 tradeoff. "We had two consecutive gamers in 2004 and 2006," he said. "There have been many other examples. This so-called continental rotation, we don't believe in that. ... That is something for chess specialists and chess is not an Olympic sport."' British bookmakers reacted to Vancouver's win by cutting London's 2012 odds to 11-8 favorite, followed by Paris at 2-1, Madrid at 11-2 and New York 8-1. Vancouver's selection was welcomed by NBC, which won the U.S. television rights to the 2010 and 2012 Olympics last month for just over US$2 billion. Executives believed that one of the two game would be in North America. "We're delighted with a win in the North American continent because it will allow much of the events to be shown live in prime time," NBC sports chief Dick Ebersol said. "It's like having a games at home." Ebersol said the time difference in Vancouver, three hours earlier than the east coast, shouldn't be a problem. He said organizers could schedule finals from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., meaning 9 p.m.-midnight on the east coast. Wednesday's biggest surprise was the showing by Pyeongchang, the least known of the three bidders. The Koreans scored points with a strong presentation stressing how the games could promote winter sports in Asia and bring peace and reconciliation on the divided Korean peninsula. "Pyeongchang is now on the map and that was not the case before," Rogge said. Cho Myung-soo, vice governor of Gangwon province, said he was disappointed but hopeful for the future. "We will try again in 2014," he said. Salzburg, which prided itself on its winter sports tradition and world-class venues, sustained a bitter defeat. "We knew that we are not a favorite but we didn't expect to fall out after the first vote," Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel said. "There are many reasons for that ... the geographical and geopolitical situation."
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