PyeongChang Upset by Sochi Over 2014 Winter Olympics

By Kim Tong-hyung

Korea Times Correspondent

GUATEMAL CITY, Guatemala _ PyeongChang of South Korea lost to Sochi of Russia in the bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics at the 119th general assembly meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) here Wednesday.

The South Korean city was upset by Sochi 51-47 in the final voting, after winning the

initial voting at 36-34. Salzburg was eliminated in the initial competition as third placer with 25.

A total of 100 IOC members participated in the runoff vote as two members from Germany and one member from Austria on the loser side joined the voting.

This is the second upset defeat for the South Korean city, following the loss in 2003, when it lost to Vancouver, Canada, in the runoff for the rights to host the 2010 Winter Games in Prague, the Czech Republic. The Korean city, which was placed top in the initial voting, lost

to Vancouver by three ballots in the final.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is regarded to play a decisive role to make the resort city of Sochi win the bidding Wednesday, observers said.

PyeongChang won the best overall review in the IOC's interim evaluation last month, but Sochi's intense, last-minute campaigning appeared to prove crucial in swaying undecided IOC members, analysts said.

The two-year race had been intense and too close to call right up to voting day and experts say it will remain as one of the tightest bidding races in Olympic history. Rumors of improper campaigning and dirty votes traded behind the scenes tarnished the final days of the bidding.

IOC President Jaques Rogge announced the winner of the final vote at Real Inter-Continental Hotel around 8:25 a.m.

Salzburg was eliminated in the initial voting as it was placed third.

South Korea has said the hosting of the Games will expand winter sports throughout Asia and foster a mood of peace on the Korean Peninsula.

In contrast, the winning bidder Sochi promised to spend $12 billion to transform Sochi into a new winter sports hub in the region, while Salzburg boasted of having hosted many major winter sports competitions and has world-class facilities in place.

Austria hosted the Winter Games twice, both in the city of Innsbruck in 1964 and 1976, whereas Russia, a traditional winter sports powerhouse, and South Korea have yet to host them. No Winter Games have been held outside Europe and North America except in Japan, which held them in 1972 and 1998.

"Our hope is that the Olympic Winter Games in Korea, one of the world's last divided countries, will be a historic celebration, where the Olympic ideals of peace and harmony are realized," South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said in an address to IOC members

during his country's presentation a few hours ahead of the vote.

Roh's Russian Counterpart Vladimir Putin and Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer also took part in their countries' presentations to IOC members, the first time the heads of state

from all Olympic bidding countries have gathered at an IOC session to garner support for their candidate cities.

With no candidate gaining a majority, third placer is to be eliminated. And how many ballots each competitor gets is not made public in accordance with the IOC rules.

The IOC members finished casting ballots in the runoff without break.

Three more members _ one from Austria and two from Germany _ participated in the runoff vote along with 97 members.

Salzburg has suffered the setback for the second time, following the disqualification at the IOC meeting in 2003 in Prague, the Czech Republic, where the 2010 Winter Olympics host was decided on.