Olympic Newsdesk: Samaranch to Hospital, Harbin Out for 2018

Harbin Opts Out for 2018 Olympics

(ATR) Three cities will battle it out for the right to stage the 2018 Winter Olympics after the Chinese sports ministry decided not to nominate the northeastern city of Harbin.

National Olympic committees must nominate applicant cities by the IOC’s Thursday deadline.

The Chinese Olympic Committee website today features a Xinhua news agency story on Harbin giving up its bid for the Winter Olympics. The northeastern city of Changchun was also rejected as an alternative to Harbin.

The French Alpine town of Annecy, Munich in Germany and PyeongChang, South Korea are expected to be named tomorrow as the only applicant cities for the 2018 Games. It would be the smallest field of bidding cities since 1988.

Chinese state media reported Wednesday that the application by Harbin had been declined by the country’s General Administration of Sport.

"GAS suggested Harbin not launch the bid for the 2018 Winter Games because there was very little chance of success," Li Chunlei, a spokesman for the sports bureau was quoted by Reuters.

"The timing is premature. Beijing just hosted a Summer Olympics last year."

Harbin entered the 2014 Olympic race but was cut from the field early in the bid process, with the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi landing the Games. The capital city of Heilongjiang province also failed to make the shortlist for the 2010 Games that was eventually won by Vancouver.

“We had failed a bid of the 2010 Games. A second failure in succession would harm our future chances," Li said.

Harbin’s top sports official, Gong Xiqing, told a Beijing newspaper that GAS made the decision because a bid from Pyeongchang was seen as stronger. Korea is bidding for the Winter Games for a third time.

Munich submitted its application documents to IOC officials at the IOC Session in Copenhagen last week. It is attempting to become the first city to host Summer and Winter Olympics, after holding the 1972 Games.

The IOC vote takes place in July 2011 at the IOC Session in Durban.

Samaranch Resting After Fatigue Attack

Fatigue is blamed for the hospitalization of former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch in Monaco on Tuesday.

Samaranch, 89, was taken to hospital after feeling ill at the Sportel convention, the international trade show for TV sports programming.

Long-time aide Annie Inchauspe, quoted on the website of Spanish news agency EFE, says Samaranch suffered fatigue and not a mild heart attack as mentioned in some press reports.

After being treated at a hospital, he is reported to be resting at a hotel in Monaco.

Samaranch has led a busy October, spending nearly two weeks in Copenhagen at the IOC Session and Olympic Congress.

He spoke during the final presentation of Madrid for the 2016 Olympics, reminding his IOC colleagues “that my time is short.”

Samaranch was hospitalized just days after he stepped down as president of the IOC in 2001. He has had a bout or two of hospitalization since then, but his health is believed to be good.

He has restricted travels from his home in Barcelona to Madrid and Lausanne for the most part, but still attends major events such as the Olympic Games and IOC meetings.

Written by Mark Bisson and Ed Hula