International Games News

June 1999

June 19, 1999 the International Olympic Committee will choose the host city for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games at the IOC session in Seoul, Korea.

The acknowledged front-runner is said to be Sion, Switzerland, with Turin, Italy a close second. Four other cities Klagenfurt, Austria; Helsinki, Finland (in a joint bid with Lillehammer, Norway); Poprad-Tatry, Slovakia and Zakopane, Poland are in the running.

After the corruption scandal revealed last winter, the IOC has changed its rules on the bidding procedures. A special panel will choose the top two candidates, and these cities will be voted upon by all of the IOC members for the privilege of hosting the 2006 games. In past years, the voting was done in rounds with the city with the lowest number of votes dropping out in each round.

Speculation is that the scandal may have a negative effect on Sions bid because it was Marc Hodler, a Swiss member of the Olympic Committee that first revealed the depth of the corruption in the IOC.

A few of these cities have recent experience organizing international games. Poprad-Tatry, Slovakia in particular has been busy this year hosting the 1999 Winter World University Games in February and the Winter European Youth Olympic Days in March. Klagenfurt was host of the 1998 World Medical Games. Zakopane hosted the Winter World University Games in 1993. Turin's experience further in their past having hosted three summer World University Games in 1970, 1959 and 1933. Helsinki, If chosen would become the first city to have hosted both a summer and a winter Olympic Games. Helsinki hosted the summer games in 1952, and most recently the European Heart-Lung Transplant Games in 1994.

Visit these links for the Official Sites of the 2006 games bids.

Helsinki..... Klagenfurt..... Poprad-Tatry ..... Sion ..... Turin ..... Zakopane

It's Torino!

Turin, Italy in a mild upset over Sion, Switzerland was selected to host the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. Reaction was strong in Switzerland where a monument outside the Olympic Museum in Lausanne was defaced, with the letters M-A-F-I-A spray painted over the Olympic rings.

World Military Games Zagreb, Croatia

Gianni Gola, President of the CISM, (Conseil Internationale du Sport Militaire) addressed the concern of the continued war in Serbia and Kosovo and the proximity of the fighting to this summers World Military Games in Croatia.

Gola in a letter to CISM members wrote, "I want to tell all members of CISM not to worry and even understand how important the organization of these World Military Games is now that the problem emerged in Kosovo". "I'm insisting on the even greater importance of the organization of these games in that region. The symbol of this pacifist and friendly gathering of more than one hundred Armed Forces of the world, the ideals and philosophy of our World Military Games will ideally present a message of peace and a true example of the possibility of understanding between all people of the world. I'm convinced that CISM by organizing these World Military Games in Croatia will very much contribute to re-establish durable and sensed peace in that region."

Results from Arafura Games, Darwin, Australia. : How many times does Papua New Guinea finish ahead of China, or Tahiti ahead of Japan. In the Arafura Games, where anyone can show up, and not necessarily national teams it can happen.

Results from Games of the Small Countries of Europe. Vaduz, Liechtenstein

Iceland on the strength of its swimmers, led by the four gold medals of Orn Arnarson, once again earned the top spot at the Games of the Small Countries of Europe.

Results from South Pacific Games held in Agana, Guam

The Pan-American torch was lit in the last week of June at the site of the ancient Aztec temple of Teotihuacan. The torch will be relayed to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada for the opening ceremonies on July 23rd.

If you are headed to Winnipeg for the games, take bug spray! The city, notorious for its mosquitoes in the summer time, has doubled its efforts at mosquito eradication this summer, spending twice its normal budget on the task.

Joao de Oliveiera, the Brazilian long and triple jumper, who broke the world record in the latter event at the 1975 Pan-American Games in Mexico City has died. De Oliveiera was third in the triple jump in the 1976 Olympic Games.

De Oliveiera had been in failing heath recently, and slipped into a coma. A tragic car accident in January of 1982 broke De Oliveiera's skull, his pelvis and fractured his leg. The leg was eventually amputated after doctors could not save it.

Moses Kiptanui, the Kenyan world champion steeplechaser injured in last summers Goodwill Games in New York, returned to the same track where he was injured in New York City for the TFA Pro Championships. Kiptanui finished a credible fifth in the 3000 meters, in a time of 7:46.54. At the time of his injury last summer, a ruptured achilles, speculation was that Kiptanui may never return to competitive running.

Michelle Smith, Chinese Swimmers banned for drug use

Michelle Smith, the Irish swimming sensation from the Atlanta Olympic Games has retired after being suspended by the FINA for failing a drug test.

Xiong Guoming, a gold medalist at the Asian Games in Bangkok this past December also failed an out of competition test. The second sample is yet to be evaluated. Ten Chinese swimmer have failed drug tests in the past eighteen months despite the Chinese programs to educate and eliminate drug use.

Another Way to Enhance Performance. Really?

The International Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) has announced that boxing matches at the 2000 Sydney Olympics will be fought in four two-minute rounds as opposed to the now standard three, three-minute rounds. The reason? The IABA received medical advice that boxers "used up a lot of lactic acid in the last minute of bouts". Hmmm, I bet there are quite a few athletes who would like to know what happens when you use up all your lactic acid. Sounds like you might be able to box (or run or swim or cycle) forever.

The very busy summer International Games season starts this month with five games in June and eleven games in July.