Chicago lands first shot in battle for 2016 Olympics

By Steve Keating

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago signaled it will be among the top contenders in the heavyweight fight to host the 2016 Olympics after landing high marks for its staging of the world boxing championships.

The two-week event closed on Saturday with everyone from International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge to the boxers from 107 countries heaping praise on a tournament which International Boxing Association (AIBA) President Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu declared the best ever.

"This tournament will go down as the greatest world championships in the history of the AIBA," Wu told reporters. "With 11 gold medals spread throughout seven countries and 80 boxers from 37 countries having qualified for the Olympics, this is a perfect illustration of the new AIBA and its honest and transparent officiating."

Stepping in at the last minute to take over the championships when Russia could not meet financial obligations, Chicago has used the two-week event as the launching pad for its Olympic bid.

FIRST BLOW

While Chicago may have landed the first blow in a two-year fight, other candidate cities Tokyo, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, Prague, Baku in Azerbaijan and Doha in Qatar are also sure to have their moments before the IOC votes in October 2009.

"In the international face of the process this is our kickoff event," United States Olympic Committee chief executive officer Jim Scherr told Reuters. "There is a limited opportunity to bid on and bring new events because of the rules of the bidding process so this was a great opportunity for the city.

"This was a critical event because of the relatively low profile of the bid compared to the other bidding cities and how well it is known, or isn't known, among the voting members of the IOC.