US Olympic Leaders Thank LA for Second Chance -- On the Scene

(ATR) Leaders of the US Olympic Committee admit they made a mistake with Boston and that Los Angeles is the right choice to run for the 2024 Olympics.

In remarks at the opening session of the annual US Olympic Assembly both chairman Larry Probst and CEO Scott Blackmun addressed the failure of the Boston bid for 2024 and their optimism for success with Los Angeles as the new candidate city.

Blackmun noted that in sport risks need to be taken. In hindsight he says the USOC should not have selected Boston as it did in January this year. The bid failed to win public support and was ended in July with Los Angeles stepping forward a month later to take on the 2024 mantle.

"We are back on our feet, we have found a second chance waiting and the whole game is in front of us," said Blackmun to an audience of about 200 sports leaders and athletes in Colorado Springs.

Probst, who is also an IOC member, told the assembly that despite the problems with Boston, he has heard plenty of encouragement from international colleagues about Los Angeles as the new US nominee for 2024.

"Their faith in our country’s passion for the Olympic Movement was not shaken. Their confidence in our ability to put forth an extraordinary bid was not diminished. And their encouragement and counsel throughout the process—from President Bach to Executive Board members to our IOC colleagues—has been a source of strength for all of us," he said.

Four other cities are bidding for 2024: Budapest, Hamburg, Paris and Rome. The IOC is to make its decision in September 2017.

LA 2024 chair Casey Wasserman followed Probst and Blackmun, making his introduction to the US Olympic family after the bid was formally accepted by the USOC and submitted to the IOC.

Wasserman, who comes from a famous family in the entertainment industry, told the story of his experience as a 10-year-old running in the torch relay for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. But he says his favorite moments came from watching the athletes at the Games.

"I saw Stefan Edberg in the demonstration sport of tennis. I saw the magnificent Edwin Moses win gold in the 400-meter hurdles. I saw Mary Lou Retton win gold in the women’s gymnastics all-around competition – a US first – and she was only six years older than me at the time," said Wasserman.

He spoke in a comfortable and measured tone, assuring the Olympic faithful that Los Angeles would do its best for 2024.

"We cannot only meet, but we can also exceed the Olympic Movement’s expectations. Why I am so certain? Because we’ve done it before; and, because our team will have the support, advice and expertise of everyone in this room. And let me be clear, we need all of you to help LA finish first in this race," said Wasserman.

After his speech Wasserman remained on the stage and was joined by the members of the USOC Board of Directors to take questions from the audience. There were none.

One of those in the room in Colorado Springs was Edwin Moses Edwin Moses, the track great who won gold at the 1984 Games, who now heads USADA, the US Anti-Doping Agency.

"Los Angeles is a powerful Olympic city," Moses tells Around the Rings.

"I think the international community likes us, it’s a great town and everybody wants to come to LA. The Olympics could be done quite easily," he says.

In other news from the Los Angeles bid, Janet Evans a three-time Olympian who won five medals in swimming from 1988 to 1996, was named vice chair and head of the Athletes Commission that will advise the bid. Evans is a native and resident of Southern California.

Written and reported in Colorado Springs by Ed Hula and Kevin Nutley.

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