Rio 2016 Won Bid On Merit - Rogge

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge said Thursday that Rio de Janeiro won the right to host the 2016 Winter Olympic Games on merit and not on its geographical location.

Reuters reports he said, "we were happy to go to Brazil for the first time in South America with the knowledge that these will be good Games, but we did not choose Brazil because South America had never got the Games before".

He told reporters, "we chose Brazil because of the quality (of the bid). The purpose of the Olympic Games is not to serve the public opinion of a country or region. The Games are there for the athletes. The athletes have on average only two chances to take part at the Games and we want good Games for the athletes.

"If, at the same time, we can also go to a region that has never organized the Games, we are happy about that".

Rogge also said that the costs of staging the Games had not spiralled out of control and that many governments had chosen of their own accord to make improvements to coincide with the event, reports Reuters.

He said, "in 2002 we studied 117 different measures with the aim of reducing or cutting the costs. Ninety per cent of these 117 measures have been implemented. The most visible is the cap of 10,500 athletes in the village, we don't want more and believe me there is pressure to get more. The second measure is that we are very strict on sports legacy."

Rogge added, "we make every effort to keep the costs under control. They are in line with inflation and it is not up to us what improvements the government decides to make in terms of general infrastructure".

Meanwhile Rogge told the Associated Press Thursday he will meet with the top leaders of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) in Vancouver next month. He said he has arranged a meeting with USOC chairman Larry Probst and new chief executive officer Scott Blackmun as part of an effort to improve ties and bring the American body back into the international fold.

Rogge said "there is a lot of goodwill on both sides. The IOC wishes to have a very good relationship with what is still today in sport the number one national Olympic committee in terms of results".

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