Posted on 07/29/2015 10:15:15 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
As choices for potential Olympic cities go, the decision that the International Olympic Committee faces on Friday for the 2022 Winter Games ranks as one of the strangest in recent memory.
Back in 2012, it looked like the race for 2022 would be extremely competitive. But after exploring bids, Oslo; Stockholm; Munich; Krakow, Poland; and St. Moritz, Switzerland; all dropped out amid public opposition and concerns over costs. Lviv, Ukraine, dropped out because of an ongoing war.
That left Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan, neither of which holds a reputation as a top winter sports destination compared with past cities such as Innsbruck, Austria; Lillehammer, Norway; or Vancouver, Canada that have hosted the Winter Games.
Also not ideal, with only Almaty and Beijing in the running, the IOC is guaranteed to be holding three consecutive Olympiads in Asia. The 2018 Winter Games will take place in PyeongChang, South Korea. Tokyo has the 2020 Summer Games.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
There's no place in northern Michigan high/long enough to host the alpine skiing events........
Do it in Antarctica. Then you could have them in the summer, when it’s warm.
“There’s no place in northern Michigan high/long enough to host the alpine skiing events...”
Build it and they will come!(?) There are probably a lot of excavators and earth movers looking for work in Lower Michigan.
You can't realistically build a mountain that would require a 2 mile run. Men's downhill courses must have a vertical drop of between 800 meters and 1,100 meters for championship and world-cup events and there is no way that can be man made on any recreation ski resort that is not in the mountains............
Yep, it’s pretty much impossible.
Another interesting bit of trivia ... The Lake Placid Olympics in 1980 were the last time the speed skating events were held outdoors. It's really strange to see video clips of those events with trees and mountains in the background, and spectators bundled up in the cold!
I’m from there. (just up the road.) Trust me when I tell you. It tanked a lot of businesses and cost money that was not there to spend. And when you are a town of a few thousand, it takes decades to replace tens of millions of dollars that the state screwed you on.
I was a competitive slalom skier in high school back in the late 60's in northern Michigan. Back around 1985, I took a ski trip to Alberta, Canada and stayed at Sunshine Village where the 1984 World Cup championships were held.
I had the opportunity of skiing the slope where the Husky downhill was held and all I can say is OMG!
Watching these events on television DO NOT even come close to conveying the actual courses these skiers have to compete on.......
Very impressive, HT. My favorite skiing competition is the giant slalom. BTW, whatever happened to barrel jumping? I like barrel jumping a lot more than curling.
LOL! I haven't heard that sport mentioned in over 40 years.......
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