Chicago Gets Endorsement in Bid for 2016 Summer Olympics

At least one key International Olympic Committee member is thinking highly of Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The local organizing committee "has tried their best to really prove that this is the Olympic Games standard, and we are happy," Dr. Ching-kuo Wu, president of the International Boxing Association (AIBA), told the Chicago Tribune.

Wu, an influential member of the International Olympic Committee, said he will support Chicago's bid for the 2016 Summer Games. The 12-day boxing tournament is moving into its final weekend in Chicago.

Photo of Chicago skyline by Robert Glusic

Seven cities are competing, with an IOC decision due in October 2009.

"Certainly I want to support the best, and I think Chicago has convinced me they are, up to now, really the best city for me," Wu said, adding that he hasn't seen the other candidate cities yet. "I look at the organizing capabilities, and also the people in Chicago and the city of Chicago. You have an excellent mayor to support sporting events, you have a strong business community supporting sporting events, you have the people who like the sports. I think added together, it is a very ideal city."

Other cities vying for the 2016 Summer Games are Prague; Rio de Janeiro; Madrid; Tokyo; Doha, Qatar; and Baku, Azerbaijan.