Left field
The Reuters global sports blog
Chicago bid boss says regional voting, IOC-USOC friction costly
A family feud and voters backing the city in their region in the first round led to Chicago’s early exit in last week’s voting to determine the host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics, the head of that city’s bid said.
“Don’t for a moment believe that Chicago finished fourth,” Patrick Ryan told hundreds of executives at a breakfast meeting in downtown Chicago.
Chicago had been considered a favorite in the voting along with Rio de Janeiro, which ended up beating out Madrid and Tokyo after three rounds on Friday in Copenhagen. Chicago was eliminated after the first round of voting with the fewest votes.
“People didn’t vote the way they said they would,” Ryan said of the first round count. He said IOC members in these votes often vote by region in the first round before switching to their ultimate candidate in subsequent rounds. That was certainly the case this time, he said.
Olympics 2016 decision day: live blog
Join us for our live blog on the day of the decision for the 2016 Olympic Games, with Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo the four candidate cities.
Comments are open, so please give us your views and predictions, and we have a poll running, so give us your vote as well!
Kevin Fylan, Copenhagen
Spain’s sporting state of grace
Pau Gasol’s triumph with the LA Lakers has prompted more articles in the Spanish media celebrating the country’s incredible run of sporting success.
Gasol was a vital cog in the Lakers machine this season and joins a long list of Spanish champions in individual and team sports.
