SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — "We're back, baby! The Olympics are coming back to Utah!"
Those were the words of Utah Gov. Spencer Cox this morning as the United States was chosen as the host country for its fifth Winter Olympic Games on Wednesday. Salt Lake City got the nod from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the 2034 Games.
Salt Lake's delegation appeared before the 142nd Session of the IOC this morning to make their final pitch before a full vote of the membership. This is the second time Salt Lake will host the Games, after previously hosting the 2002 Games. The U.S. has also hosted the Winter Games at Lake Placid, N.Y. (1932 and 1980) and Squaw Valley, Calif. (1960).
The IOC voted 83-6 to award Salt Lake the Games with six abstentions.
Salt Lake 2034 CEO Frazer Bullock said the theme for the Games will be "Elevate."
"Elevate our communities, elevate sports, and elevate the Games' experience," said Bullock.
Cox pointed out Utah's 2002 Games have given the state and city experience to host the 2034 Games, using the same venues as the previous event.
"We have held 1,100 sporting events since the 2002 Games," said Cox. "That's an average of 50 events a year every year since 2002." Cox also said the state has 100% political alignment over bringing the games back to Utah. Salt Lake Mayor Erin Mendenhall said 80% of the city's population support bringing the Games back. Athletes from 30 nations already train at Utah's facility annually.
Bullock said he remembered standing on a stadium roof during the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Games, watching the fireworks light the mountains.
"I really didn't want that moment to end," Bullock said, getting choked up, later telling IOC members, "You will find us the best of partners."
The 2034 Games are currently scheduled for February with the Paralympic Games to follow in March.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended Salt Lake during their executive board meeting on June 12. IOC members toured the 2002 Olympic sites in April. Karl Stoss, chair of the Future Host Commission for the Olympic Winter Games, said at the time he felt Utah could be ready to "host tomorrow" if needed.
This morning, Stoss called Salt Lake's bid "a very strong project, with an exceptionally high level of public and political support. This is a clear mission, and we could feel it all the time when we went to Salt Lake City in Utah."
Stoss also told a quick anecdote about being in the Salt Lake City International Airport, and when he asked an airport staff member where his gate was, the staff member recognized Stoss as "the Olympic guy."
"'Yeah, man!'" Stoss quoted the airport worker. "'Bring the Games back to Salt Lake!'"
"The Olympic and Paralympics represent so much more than competition," said Cox. "At its core, the Olympic movement is about building community and celebrating excellence, things we do really well in Utah,” said Gov. Cox. “More than 80% of Utahns and 100% of our elected leaders supported our Olympic bid. We're ready to host another Winter Games and we can't wait to welcome the world back to Utah in 2034."
A number of IOC members slowed the vote in a way they did not when awarding the 2030 Winter Games to France earlier this morning. They raised concerns about how nations might try to sidestep or water down the anti-doping regulations that are part of the Games.
Specifically, the IOC altered the contract with Salt Lake that required the Games' sponsors to adhere to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as being the "supreme authority" in testing and disqualifying athletes found to be in violation. IOC officials confirmed the Salt Lake delegation had signed the amendment to the contract in order to obtain the games.
The admonishments from the IOC come just two weeks after WADA cleared itself of wrongdoing in not disciplining several Chinese swimmers who tested positive for banned drugs leading up to the Summer Games next week. Chinese officials claimed the swimmers had been "unwittingly contaminated." While WADA's report noted it had difficulty in believing Chinese claims, a special prosecutor appointed to investigate the situation called the organization's actions in clearing the swimmers as "indisputably reasonable."
Seeing as the swimmers in question defeated U.S. swimmers, however, led some American critics to question WADA's work.
While the discussion over the scandal did not have any involvement with or bearing on Salt Lake City, it delayed the vote by nearly half an hour this morning as half a dozen IOC members took the occasion to speak.
Utah officials, including Bullock and Cox, agreed that they would back WADA and they wanted the 2034 Games to be "clean."
The IOC actually set up two Winter Games in their voting today: The French Alps were chosen to host 2030 Games with Salt Lake to follow in 2034.
France hosted the very first Olympic Winter Games in 1924 in Chamonix. They have also hosted Winter Games in Grenoble in 1968 and Albertville in 1992.
Italy has already been chosen to host the 2026 Games. Switzerland has entered a "privileged dialog" with the IOC for the 2038 Games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
