USA set to challenge Germany, Italy for 2024 Olympics

Los Angeles, Washington, Boston and San Francisco all made their final pitches for staging the world’s biggest sports event to the USOC board of directors on Tuesday.

"The board voted unanimously to move forward with a bid," said USOC chairman Larry Probst (pictured above). "We are going to take our time and pick the city we think has the best chance of winning the competition from other cities around the world."

"This is going to be a really, really difficult decision. That is why we want to make sure we get to the best possible decision."

The United States has won the most medals at the last five Summer Games but it hasn't hosted a Summer Olympics since the 1996 Atlanta Games. The 2002 Winter Olympics, in Salt Lake City, were the last Games on US soil.

Italy also in the running

But, the USA can expect tough competition for the race to host the 2024 event.

The US decision to bid for the Olympics comes just a day after Italy announced Rome would lead what is expected to be a multi-city bid. A top cardinal told news agency AFP that the Vatican could potentially host Olympic archery in its gardens or at the Pope's summer residence, if Italy wins the right to host.

Germany’s Olympic Sporting Federation, the DOSB, said on December 7 that either Berlin or Hamburg will be put forward for the 2024 Summer Games. Germany will confirm its preferred option in March.

Paris is to decide in January whether to stage a bid and the Azerbaijan capital, Baku, and Doha - both beaten by Tokyo in the bid to host the 2020 Games – are also potential candidates. South Africa could have a bid by Durban or a joint Johannesburg-Pretoria bid.

Cities have until next September to officially register their interest with the IOC. The International Olympic Committee says it will choose a final list of candidate cities in May 2016 and make a final decision on who will receive the Games in Lima in 2017.

rd/al (AFP, Reuters)