International Capsules: Three cities make cut for 2018 Winter Games

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The race for the 2018 Winter Olympics began officially Tuesday with two cities running neck-and-neck and a third stuck in the starting blocks.

The three candidates from France, Germany and South Korea all made the cut, as expected, when the International Olympic Committee announced the list of official bid cities.

But, for now at least, this is clearly a two-horse race.

While Munich and Pyeongchang, South Korea, received high marks and unequivocal approval, the bid from Annecy, France, was told to revamp its plans because the spread-out venues present “significant” logistical challenges.

“The executive board decided that all three applicant cities deserved to move to the second phase of the bidding procedure,” IOC Olympic Games executive director Gilbert Felli said. “It has been made clear, however, that Annecy needed to review its project.”

The full IOC will select the 2018 host city by secret ballot at its session in Durban, South Africa on July 6, 2011.

In past bid races, the IOC has reduced the field of cities at this stage. With only three candidates this time, the smallest number in three decades, there was no pressure to drop any city.

Had there been a bigger field, Annecy might not have survived.

“They need to catch up. But they have the time to do it, and we think they can do it,” Felli said.

The three cities have been campaigning on a low-key basis since October. Now, as official “candidate cities,” they can use the Olympic rings in their campaigns and launch international lobbying efforts.

“We’ve all cleared the first hurdle,” said Willy Bogner, the former skier and moviemaker who leads the Munich bid. “We’re out of the starting blocks now. The race has just begun.”

The finalists must submit their detailed bid proposals to the IOC by Jan. 11, 2011. An IOC evaluation commission will visit each city next year and issue a report assessing the bids a month before the final vote.

The IOC did not rank the bids Tuesday but published a report that compared the cities on 11 technical criteria, including infrastructure, financing, security and venues.

Munich came out slightly ahead of Pyeongchang overall, edging the Korean bid in four categories. Pyeongchang was rated higher than Munich in three categories, while the two cities tied on four others.

“The numbers look good,” Bogner said. “We’re happy. We have a slight advantage. There’s always areas you can still improve.”

Annecy, meanwhile, received considerably lower marks overall and was criticized for having 10 stand-alone venues and multiple athlete villages in a dispersed area.

“The project ... presents a number of significant challenges and a higher degree of risk,” the IOC report said. “The concept would result in a complex set of organizational, logistical and financial challenges for all client groups.”

Edgar Grospiron, the former Olympic moguls champion who leads the Annecy bid, said the French team would hold urgent meetings with local mayors and other officials to devise a more compact project.

“It’s going to be a lot of work, but it’s going to happen very fast,” he said. “We have to stick together and present a new bid, a new concept.”

Bogner said Annecy should not be ruled out as a contender.

“You should never underestimate a competitor, especially if they are French,” he said. “I know that from my skiing days. I think they will solve those problems.”

Cho Yang-ho, the Korean Air chairman who heads the Pyeongchang bid, said all cities are “on an equal footing.”

He stressed Pyeongchang’s position as the candidate from Asia, a continent which has hosted the Winter Games only twice and both times in Japan.

“We represent an Asian population of 1 billion people and 650 million youth in Asia,” Cho said. “We are the hub of winter sports in Asia. This is a good opportunity for the Olympic movement.”

Pyeongchang, located in the Alpensia mountains east of Seoul, is back again after narrowly losing out to Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics and to Sochi, Russia, for the 2014 Games.

Munich, which staged the 1972 Summer Olympics, aims to become the first city to host both the summer and winter games. The Bavarian bid proposes holding ice events in Munich and snow competitions in the mountain resorts of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Koenigssee. Garmisch hosted the Winter Games in 1936.

The Savoy lakeside resort of Annecy is making its first Olympic bid, although France has staged the Winter Games three times — Chamonix 1924, Grenoble 1968 and Albertville 1992. Annecy proposes using eight ski resorts around Mont Blanc, including Chamonix, Megeve and Morzine.

Coe: BP is ‘partner to stay’ of 2012 Olympics

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — London Olympics leader Sebastian Coe defended BP on Tuesday, saying the company is a “partner to stay” of the 2012 Games despite the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

BP has been a top-tier sponsor of the London Olympics since 2008 in a deal valued at about $58 million. The company has come under severe criticism in the United States for its handling of the massive spill.

“BP is a world-class company that is dealing openly with a very serious issue,” said Coe, chairman of the London Olympic organizing committee. “I want them to be able to focus on doing that but also reassure you that they are a partner to stay.”

BP is also a sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

London organizers are promoting the 2012 Olympics as the greenest games ever, and Coe dismissed suggestions that BP’s tarnished image could also reflect on the London Games.

“If I felt uncomfortable about BP or my board had felt uncomfortable about BP, they wouldn’t have been sitting at the table in the first place,” Coe said. “BP have a strong record of supporting sports. They are a premier partner in the Cultural Olympiad. They have been active in that space for the last 30 years.

“I’m delighted they’re our partners. They will remain our partners.”

Coe spoke to reporters in Lausanne after a regular update to the International Olympic Committee executive board on preparations for the 2012 Games. He reiterated that the Olympics will remain on track despite the heavy spending cuts in Britain aimed at trimming the country’s massive deficit.

On Tuesday, the government unveiled the toughest cuts to public spending in decades.

Last month, the Olympic Delivery Authority, the group responsible for building the venues, had its funding cut by $39.5 million. The overall public sector budget for the Olympics is $13.6 billion.

Coe said it was unclear how Tuesday’s emergency budget would affect the Olympics but stressed the games were providing an “economic dividend” to Britain through billions of dollars in construction contracts.

Coe said he reassured the IOC that political support for the games in Britain remains unchanged after the installation of the new coalition government led by Prime Minister David Cameron.

“During a hard-fought general election, the all-party approach to the games held firm,” he said.

-- Stephen Wilson

Kuwaiti athletes cleared for Youth Olympics

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The IOC says Kuwaiti athletes can compete in the Youth Olympics despite the suspension of their national Olympic committee.

The International Olympic Committee ruled Tuesday that Kuwaiti athletes can compete under the Olympic flag at the inaugural Youth Games in Singapore from Aug. 14-26.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams says the decision was taken to “respect the rights of the athletes.”

The IOC suspended Kuwait’s national Olympic committee in February because of alleged political interference by the government.

Kuwaiti officials are barred from Olympic meetings, and the Kuwaiti committee no longer receives Olympic funding.

Adams says four Kuwaiti athletes are entered for the Youth Games, which will feature 3,600 athletes.

Cycling

RadioShack confirms Armstrong for Tour de France

GENEVA (AP) — Team RadioShack has confirmed that Lance Armstrong will ride in next month’s Tour de France.

Team director Johan Bruyneel says Tuesday that seven-time Tour winner Armstrong will be joined by Andreas Kloeden of Germany, Americans Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner, and Janez Brajkovic of Slovenia.

Also racing for RadioShack will be Portugal’s Sergio Paulinho, Yaroslav Popovych of Ukraine, Swiss rider Gregory Rast and Dmitriy Muravyev of Kazakhstan.

The 38-year-old Armstrong finished second in the Tour of Switzerland on Sunday, performing well in the mountain stages and the time trials.

Armstrong crashed at the Tour of California in May but escaped serious injury.

The Tour’s 97th edition begins July 3 in the Dutch port of Rotterdam.

WADA to monitor drug-testing at Tour de France

MONTREAL (AP) — The World Anti-Doping Agency will monitor drug-testing at next month’s Tour de France.

The International Cycling Union signed the agreement Tuesday. WADA representatives will be able to observe all phases of the UCI’s anti-doping controls, from the selection of riders to be tested to the handling of results. They will also have access to all related documents.

The WADA observers will write a report on UCI’s anti-doping activities after the Tour, which runs July 3-25.

Cycling’s governing body had requested the observers in October, hoping to increase the transparency of its anti-doping efforts.

Cyclist Kim Kirchen taken out of coma

ZURICH (AP) — Cyclist Kim Kirchen of Luxembourg has been taken out of a medically controlled coma, four days after a heart attack.

The 31-year-old Katusha rider complained of heart problems last Friday following the seventh stage of the Tour of Switzerland. He was taken to a hospital and put in a coma.

His team said Tuesday that after he was removed from the coma he immediately recognized his wife and father, but had no memory of what happened to him.

He reportedly has no problems with his heart or lungs. He will remain in hospital as doctors try to find the cause of the heart attack.

Kirchen had heart problems earlier this year. He had been selected to ride in the Tour de France, which begins next month.

Figure Skating

McLaughlin and Brubaker calling it quits

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Once touted as the best hope to end the U.S. drought in pairs skating, Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker are calling it quits.

The two-time U.S. champions announced Tuesday they are splitting after four years together. The move is hardly a surprise after their struggles last season cost them a spot at the Vancouver Olympics. McLaughlin, who turns 18 in September, said she will take a year off to focus on school. Brubaker plans to continue skating and is looking for a new partner.

“Rockne and I have had an amazing career together, and I can’t thank him enough for that,” McLaughlin said in a statement. “Right now I feel like I need to devote time to school as well as other interests photography, art, dance and spend some time away from skating competitively.”

McLaughlin and Brubaker made a shockingly fast rise after being paired together in 2006. They won every competition they entered their first season together, including the 2007 junior world title, and followed it up with the U.S. senior title the following year. They had an athleticism, artistry and swagger rarely seen in U.S. teams, and they made no secret of wanting to return the Americans to the Olympic podium. The United States has never won an Olympic gold in pairs, and its last medal was Jill Watson and Peter Oppegard’s bronze in 1988.

But they were shaky in their world championships debut in 2009 and announced a coaching switch shortly after. The move didn’t help, however, and McLaughlin and Brubaker performed so poorly at the national championships in January that they finished fifth.

“Keauna and I have had a wonderful career together, and it has been a great experience,” Brubaker said. “I wish her all the best and feel truly honored to have worked with her.”

Track & Field

Retired Olympic medalist Stephanie Graf banned

VIENNA (AP) — Sydney Olympic silver medalist Stephanie Graf was banned two years for doping, a ruling that comes six years after the Austrian runner retired.

The National Anti-Doping Agency said Tuesday that Graf had blood taken at a controversial Vienna laboratory at least once for doping purposes. The agency said the ban took effect Monday.

The 37-year-old Graf has said she had blood taken at the Humanplasma lab in 2003 but denies it was re-injected. That would be a violation under international doping rules.

Humanplasma said in March that its facility had been used by several coaches to help about 30 athletes with blood doping from 2003 to 2006.

Graf finished second in the 800 meters at the 2000 Games. She won the 800 at the European indoor championships that year and collected three silver medals at world championships before retiring shortly before the 2004 Athens Games.