2016 Games race enters final stretch

By Karolos Grohmann
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - The race to host the 2016 Olympics entered its final stretch on Wednesday with the four candidate cities outlining their plans to the International Olympic Committee before the October election.
Tokyo and Chicago had the chance to present their candidacy to some 93 out of 107 IOC members in the morning with Rio and Madrid due to deliver their pitches later in the day.
The IOC will vote in its session on October 2 in Copenhagen for the winning bid.
"I think the team did really well," said Chicago bid chief Pat Ryan, as a handful of people opposing the Games in the U.S. city, gathered outside the Olympic Museum distributing leaflets for the second day.
"The Chicago Games will open up a large untapped corporate community... to the Olympic movement," said Ryan. Chicago plans to hold much of the Games in the city center, along several large parks bordering Lake Michigan.
Some IOC members said Chicago's presentation was well received.
"I think they did a very professional job," said IOC member Kevan Gosper. "There were a lot of good questions and answers," Gosper said of the 90-minute pitch that ran around 10 minutes longer than planned.
A notable absence from Chicago's videos was U.S. president Barack Obama, a supporter of the bid who spent much of his political life in the city, unlike leaders of the Tokyo bid who included a video message of Prime Minister Taro Aso.
DIFFICULT RACE
The U.S. President did, however, announce on Tuesday the creation of the White House Office of Olympic, Paralympic and Youth Sport to encourage increased youth participation in sport.
Aso, who competed in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, said the government was fully behind Tokyo's bid.
"I am proud to confirm the total commitment of the government of Japan to the Tokyo 2016 Games," Aso said in a brief video message.
"It is a very difficult race," said Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara after their 45-minute presentation and subsequent 45-minute question and answer session.
Tokyo drafted a compact bid with the Tokyo Bay area at the heart of the Games.
Bid officials also highlighted the fact they had $4 billion "in the bank today." Continued...
Source: Reuters