Olympics Link to Boston Bombing; Massive Payday for Foreigners to London; 2012 Auction

Boston Bombing Suspect an Olympic Aspirant

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the suspect shot and killed by law enforcement agents on Friday over his suspected role in Monday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon, was reportedly hoping to make the U.S. Olympic Team.

Tsarnaev was the subject of a photo essay from photographer Johannes Hirn showing Tsarnaev training for the national Golden Gloves boxing tournament.

"If he wins enough fights there, Tamerlan says he could be selected for the US Olympic team and be naturalized American," a caption reads with Tsarnaev in front of an American flag.

According toUSA Boxing, however, that's far from the case.

"He was not close to making an Olympic team or national team," a spokesperson for USA Boxing told NPR on Friday.

"As a non-citizen, he would have been precluded from competing in any qualifying tournaments or USA Boxing national events. In addition, he lost his first bout in the only national tournament he competed in, which was the 2009 Golden Gloves. He lost a decision in the heavyweight division of 201 pounds at the event with the bout taking place in Salt Lake City, Utah on May 4, 2009. He was registered with USA Boxing in 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2010."

$15 Billion in Foreign Spending for London

Foreign visitors to London spent $15.2 billion last year.

A report released by London & Partners, the mayor’s official promotional arm, said 15.46 million visitors went to London in 2012, accounting for the spending which was seven percent more than in 2011. The statement says: "Figures indicate that international visitors took advantage of the spectacle and atmosphere of the Games."

"2012 was an amazing year in which we had a string of golden opportunities to show the world why London is the best big city on earth," London Mayor Boris Johnson said.

"One of the most successful Olympic & Paralympic Games in living memory, preceded by the fantastic Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, gave us a platform to shine to an audience of billions. It's clear that London's attraction as a global visitor destination remained immensely strong in 2012 and, despite the predictions of the gloomsters and the Olymposceptics, London was anything but a ghost town. Now the task is to look forward and do everything we can to build on what we achieved last summer and deliver the lasting legacy that was at the heart of our Olympic bid."

London 2012 Auction

The remaining items from London 2012 are going up for auction on April 28 and 29 at Coventry Stadium.

Up for sale are sporting items, banners, four Olympic torches, costumes and props from all four ceremonies including the scarecrow and Mary Poppins "which both featured in the Olympic Opening Ceremony," a LOCOG statement says.

Advice for 2024 Bid

Although no official decision has been made on a U.S. bid for an upcoming Games, USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said at an event in Atlanta on Thursday: "We are working hard on bringing 2024 back to the United States."

He also revealed that he spent time seeking advice from Atlanta 1996 President Billy Payne and A.D. Frazier, the Chief Operating Officer for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games.

Frazier was blunt in his assessment of the current bid process.

"I gave him some advice and said, ‘If we can’t afford it, let’s don’t bid on it because it’s going to cost an arm and a leg, and you’ve got to wonder whether it’s really worth it anymore, because it’s just too doggone expensive,’" Frazier tells Around the Rings. "I think he’d like to put a U.S. bid in, and I think he will."

Frazier, who is now president of a nontraditional private equity firm called Georgia Oak Partners LLC, says Texas is "probably the one jurisdiction that can afford it. And if they’re willing to do it, I say, ‘Go for it.’ I think it’s a wonderful thing to host the Olympic Games."

He said Dallas would probably be favored over Houston.

"I think the state of Texas is probably big enough and with enough infrastructure and enough money and a statewide interest, that they could probably pull it off," he said.

"Anyway, these guys know how to think big. They think like Billy, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t bid for the U.S."

Frazier said Atlanta was the last Olympics to use sponsorship money for infrastructure, including the Olympic Stadium. "The IOC really didn’t like that," he said. "And when we did it, they said, ‘Never again.’"

He dismissed a U.S. bid for the Winter Olympics. "The Winter Games are about one-fifth the size of the Summer Games, and the Summer Games really define the movement," Frazier said. "If you’re not in the 100-meter dash, you’re not in the Olympics."

China/Cuba to Sign Agreement

Leaders of the Chinese and Cuban Olympic Committees are set to meet in Havana this week.

The Prensa Latina news agency reports that Chinese Olympic Committee vice president Yang Shuan will meet with Cuban Olympic Committee president Jose Ramon Fernandez and other Cuban sports officials to sign a "cooperation agreement."

Written by Ed Hula III.

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