Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 17, 1995 TAG: 9506200047
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY LENGTH: Medium
The fifth time was the right time for Salt Lake City.
After nearly three decades of being told it would have to wait, the Utah capital finally ended its frustrating chase Friday as the overwhelming choice to play host to the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Salt Lake City was selected in a landslide over three other candidates - Sion, Switzerland; Ostersund, Sweden; and Quebec.
It also will be the second time in less than six years that the Olympic flame will burn on U.S. soil. Atlanta plays host to the centennial Summer Games next year.
``I feel like the climber who's made it to the top of Mount Everest,'' said Deedee Corradini, Salt Lake City mayor. ``It's been a long, hard climb. To reach that peak is one of the most exciting moments of my life.''
``I really believed we would win,'' said Mike Leavitt, governor of Utah. ``Inside, I knew it was the right thing to happen.''
Rejected four times in the past 29 years, Salt Lake City was chosen this time because of an unassailable mix of ready-to-use sports facilities, a friendly relationship with the people doing the picking and the belief that staging the Olympics in the United States is a virtual lock for a successful Games.
Salt Lake was the favorite before the vote. Still, the speed and size of the victory was stunning.
The city won on the first round of a secret ballot by the International Olympic Committee, receiving 54 of the valid 89 votes. The number of votes required for victory was a majority of 45.
Sion and Ostersund each received 14 votes, while Quebec collected seven.
Normally, it takes several rounds before a winner emerges with a majority. IOC officials said the last time an Olympic election involving more than two cities was decided in the first round was when Sapporo, Japan, was selected to play host to the 1972 Winter Games. That vote was the first of Salt Lake's four unsuccessful bids.
``I have to admit we weren't expecting such a rapid result,'' said Frank Joklik, Salt Lake City bid chairman.
This was the fifth Olympic bid by Salt Lake City dating back to 1966. Four years ago, Salt Lake lost the 1998 Games by four votes to Nagano, Japan.
Salt Lake was widely acknowledged to have the strongest bid in 1991, but was passed over because the IOC was unwilling to select an American city so soon after awarding the 1996 Games to Atlanta.
``Last time, people were thinking about Atlanta,'' said Anita DeFrantz, American IOC member. ``This time, they were thinking about only the winter candidates.''
Friday's result was kept secret until IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch opened a sealed envelope and read out Salt Lake's City name in a worldwide television broadcast.
But most IOC members had assumed Salt Lake was the winner when they were told a majority decision was reached on the first ballot. Many delegates congratulated DeFrantz and the other U.S. member, James Easton, before the official announcement.
But DeFrantz and Easton gave nothing away by their expressions when they entered the hall for the ceremony.
``I never want to play poker with Anita or Jim,'' Leavitt said. ``I was worried.''
Minutes later, Salt Lake delegates sprang from their seats and cheered wildly when Samaranch pronounced the magic words:
``The International Olympic Committee has decided to award the organization of the 19th Olympic Winter Games in 2002 to the city of Salt Lake City.''
Bid committee chief Tom Welch said he wasn't sure he had heard correctly when Samaranch announced Salt Lake's name. He said he was so excited he could barely sign the IOC's host-city contract.
``My hand was shaking so bad, I had to set it on the table,'' Welch said.
Salt Lake City's bid proved too good to pass up. The city dazzled IOC members by emphasizing that previous commitments were turned into reality: eight of the nine venues are already completed.
Salt Lake's chances were also helped by familiarity with IOC members - friendships forged since the previous bid. That friendship came right to Budapest; hundreds of Salt Lake boosters lined a bridge over the Danube to wave as IOC members traveled by bus to the hall where the vote took place.
And aiding the bid was the prospect of a trouble-free Olympics in a modern and comfortable city.
``No city prepared more completely than Salt Lake City, no bid was more thorough and detailed ..., said LeRoy T. Walker, president of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
by CNB