Triffle

Ahhh that makes more sense. if a sport is voted off, I would doubt they'd subsequently by the selected 28th sport; I would imagine the IOC would favour something shiny and new. I hope that won't be the system indefinitely because it seems like it could evolve into removing sports for no justifiable reason other than to add something new.

Have I got this right? Is the IOC selecting 25 core sports for the 2020 Olympics, and then I assume the 3 excluded plus new sports will compete for the final 3 places??? In which case, ignoring personal preference, what sports will most likely be outside the core list?

Maybe they should reform Modern Pentathlon to be a competition involving an event or element of every other sport on the programme. Or perhaps make it a a competition with 16 events- one for each day- maybe including a run, a throw and a jump plus 13 events from other disciplines. Other that or cut it. *Either, not other.

Sorry rols i was being sarcastic to cover myself thats exactly my point. There's only 8 Olympic bids to be decided for the next 40 years; and with 1 already pencilled in for the USA (which i think is far more likely than Canada) i doubt there would be 2 in North America. If there is a second, well it wouldnt come until the end of the 40 years anyway But there doesnt need to be many options. Only 1 maybe 2 more Olympics will be awarded to the Americas in the next 40 years. So reserving 1 for the USA, then there only needs to be one other viable candidate to at least terminate the inevitability of Toronto hosting. Thats absolutely right for the forseeable future. But by the 2040's, there could be and probably will be many more viable hosts. Mexico and Brazil are forecasted to be among the 5 richest countries in the world by 2050; so perhaps Guadalajara could provide a strong alternative. But IMO, Buenos Aires must be the strongest chance of hosting the next Latin American Games and if Rio is adjudged capable to host the Games currently, then I can't see why Buenos Aires shouldn't also be recognised as being capable of hoting the Games in the near future also; let alone the 2040's. BA is comparatively similar to Rio in population but considered much safer and also citizens enjoy a higher GDP per capita. So I absolutely believe that BA will be a very competitive candidate for the next non-US host from the Americas; and at least be a "new" Olympic country where as Canada would be attempting to host their 4th or 5th Games (if they host another winter olympics). its all speculative, but I think US-Latin America is more likely as the next 2 Olympic hosts in the Americas than Canada featuring.

i'd say you'd be wrong. The next North American Olympics will be in 2024/2028/2032 (more likely 2028/2032). If the USA selects one of San Francisco, New York or Chicago then they'll win the bid. The main appeal of hosting a North American Olympics is the US television revenue; so if the duration between US hosts is quite long (three to four decades), then whats the point of going to Canada when there are better and more lucrative alternatives (and no "recent host issue"). After that, the Americas won't host another games for at least 12 years; so then its the 2040's. i think its more likely a Latin American host would stage the next Games in the Americas after the US, though that certainly is debatable. so at best i doubt Toronto would host any earlier than 2040; but more likely 2056+

i was hopping people wouldnt read page pg 13 lol. your probably a canadian expat anyway and im not saying canada won't host another olympics before australia; just that neither will host for at least another 40 years.

no, it doesnt. notice how its only canadians saying Toronto will host in the next 40 years. for the record i doubt Australia will host another Olympics until Melbourne 2096 (bookmark it).

I actually sympathise for Qatar for the first time

Qatar's victory clearly sets a precedence that any country, regardless of population, size, infrastructure, transport, sporting culture and football tradition, can win a World Cup bid so long as you have money. Therefore, i think Equatorial Guinea has a strong chance at 2026; they have one of the highest GDP's per capita in the world because of (like Qatar) petro-dollars. Forget the corruption problems associated with the country because clearly thats nothing for FIFA executives; indeed, they encourage it! lol but surely the US Government and populice that cares would be offended that a country smaller than like 30 American metros (someone was offended by my use of the word "city") has been awarded the tournament instead.

i really hope Australia doesn't bother and waste taxpayer's money; USA is insulted ala Chicago snubbing and decide not to bid in the immediate future; China assumes they can't bid because of 2022; England gives up; Tokyo and Paris are successful in Olympic bids- ending Japan or France's 2026 dreams; Italy focuses on failed Summer Olympic bids; and Uruguay/Argentina focus on 2030. Leaving it to be a contest between Mexico and Morocco; bahahahahaha!!! would serve FIFA right having such lousy candidates

love the last sentence

so is your bias.

Cannot see Canada hosting another summer olympics for at least 30 years and probably longer. now that hosting the games is extremely popular for cities worldwide, what's in it for the IOC to return the games to Canada? Canada is a previous host country; doesnt have a particularly large population; its international power and inlfluence will stagnate and become negligible as the developing countries continue to rapidly growth; its current international power and influence is already minor (Canada is on every major international "group" or organization just because the US wants to have 2 votes); will have negligible growth in the next 50 years (in comparison to the emerging economies); despite its wealth, has not been a major power at the summer olympics historically; and for a country of its size, Canada has had its fair share of Olympics with 3. Not to mention, prospective Canadian host cities aren't all that iconic, exotic or fascinating (specifically from an international perspective; which may be naive but people's interest in Toronto just doesnt compare with Rio, Paris, Tokyo, Cape Town etc) for a summer games. i really can't see how the IOC could justify awarding Canada another Olympics before Africa (which now has viable hosting options in South Africa and therefore cannot be easily overlooked anymore), a muslim city (doubt this would before 2028, but by then Istanbul could possibly host while obviously Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are all capable), Japan (previous host like Canada but exceeds Canada in almost every other relevant category (population, economy, influence, sports success, duration since last Olympics, recognisability of candidate city)) and France (same reasons as Japan). Hosting 2010 surely rules Canada out for 2020-2024; especially considering bids from particularly RSA, Japan and France. By 2028/2032, the US would surely bid again and provided they selected a decent candidate (Chicago, SF, NYC, Miami)would certainly be awarded the games ahead of a Canadian city (not necessarily 2028/2032, but the next games in NA from that point on) since the US TV audiences are the main reason why the games would return to North America . By 2028/2032 also, India would be pushing hard for an olympics and like with Beijing/China I think the IOC will be forced to award Delhi an Olympics in at least the 2030's. Personally I don't think India should host an Olympics for 50 years because of their extreme poverty, but if by 2030's the world's 3rd richest country (by then) with 1/6 of humanity is demanding a games then the IOC would surely gave in (and Delhi should be better prepared in 20+ years anyway). Then there's also Rome, Berlin, Saint Petersburg, Kuala Lumpur (2028+), Buenos Aires as strong bidders. If Canada hasn't been awarded the games already by 2040, then another big player comes along; China. 32 years after Beijing would surely be sufficient for the world's most populous and by then most powerful and richest country. Shanghai vs Toronto 2040 would look very similar to 2008's voting. 2040 would be appropriate timing for China since they are forecasted to overtake the US as the richest country in the world by 2038 also. By 2040, China would have a strong argument to host an Olympics every 2 years as purely from a population perspective, they would be entitled to 1 in every 6 games and by then be able to back it up financially also. So personally I'd expect the games to be awarded to Africa, Europe twice, the US, India, Middle East, Japan and China before another Canadian host. So 2052 at the earliest for mine!

I think they both had similarities don't you think? Both were strong technical bids but with unfortunate timing. Beijing was always going to win 2008, while it appears the IOC, particularly after FIFA 's continental rotation, was determined to send the Olympics to a "new frontier"; and with Rio de Janeiro presenting a strong bid, this desire was met while a former host in Tokyo had little chance. i don't really see Pyeongchang possibly hosting the 2018 winter olympics as being a big issue; certainly no bigger issue than Canada hosting a winter and then summer Olympics just 10 years apart. Especially considering Brazil will host the 2014 World Cup yet was still successful in its Olympic bid; the 2004/2006 Olympics' were both in Europe as are 2012/2014. Also considering that East Asia is the most populous region in the world and consequently has the largest television market; a market that may not be as lucrative as the USA or Europe currently, but will be in 20 years as the national economies continue to surge. And surely the IOC would want to capitalise and strength the Olympic product in this region for the future. Asia has also been severely overlooked in hosting Olympic Games; just 5 Games in a region accounting for 55% of humanity; so a rare winter/summer games double shouldn't be a concern.

Consider that Tokyo trumps Toronto in terms of: Population - the Tokyo Metropolitan Area's population is more than 6 times the size of Greater Toronto - Japan's population is more than 3 times the size of Canada's Economy - Tokyo was described by Saskia Sassen as one of the three command cities of the world economy - Tokyo is ranked by PriceWaterCooperHouse as the world's richest city by total GDP; while Toronto is No.22 - Japan has the world's third largest GDP, compared with Canada at 10 - Japanese citizens are marginally wealthier than Canadians Influence - Tokyo is the capital city of one of the world's most powerful nations (3 largest economy, 10th largest population) - Tokyo was ranked No.3 among global cities by "Foreign Policy" while Toronto was 14 Sport - Japan has historically performed better at the Summer Olympics than Canada (123 gold vs 58) - Tokyo has hosted the 1964 Olympics and co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup; while the biggest event Toronto has hosted was the Pan American Games Infrastructure - Tokyo has probably the best public transport system in the world; while Toronto is very much a car dependant metropolis - Tokyo's existing stadia is already better than Toronto's - Additional stadia will be less likely to become "white elephants" in the world's largest city than Toronto - Tokyo must be considered more reliable than Toronto in delivering facilities on schedule Timezone - 2020 would be 12 years since another Olympics was hosted in a similar timezone to Tokyo's; while it would be just 4 years for Toronto Drought - Japan's drought for hosting Summer Olympic Games is 12 years longer than Canada's - Japan's drought for hosting any Olympic Games is also 12 years longer

If the IOC decide not to award consecutive games to developing nations (say South Africa, India or Turkey) then I think Tokyo will have to be the favourite for 2020. Just assuming its a battle between developed cities, I honestly cannot imagine a strong reason as to why the IOC would and should award Toronto the Olympics over Tokyo. i'll expand later

Americans just can't hack it that they lost the olympics. They can't bear the thought that a bigger and better communist equivalent to the USSR has come to spoil their arrogant party. Better get used to it, China's not going anywhere!

Just looking at wikipedia's beijing olympics page, and surprisingly found Canada had sent the 8th largest delegation desite clearly not being a medal powerhouse; while Italy sent a larger contingent of athletes than GB and France. No surprises with top 5. Top 10 in order: China (639), USA (596), Russia (467), Germany (463), Australia (433), Japan (351), Italy (341), Canada (332), France (323), GB (312).

Russia is arguably the strongest nation in the world at field events, so certainly don't write them off to finish strongly. The Russians, i think, will leap frog into 3rd this week (in terms of Golds) with Wrestling, S.Swimming, R.Gymnastics and Field events all to come. Unfortunately Australia's slight disappointment in swimming, shooting and definately cycling will cost us fourth, and possibly 5th. I think we have a good enough buffer over France, Italy and Japan to finish minimum 7th, with Korea dangerous as Taekwondo is yet to start. Predicted medal tally China USA Russia GB Germany Australia Korea Japan Italy France

Begrudgingly agree. The swimmers could have won a whole lot more Gold's, but it is an Olympics and they have been beaten by WR's or extremely close finishes. I my mind, shooting and road cycling have been our biggest disappointments. In shooting, 3 world No.1's and 2 hot favourites for gold; for 1 bronze and 4th place. In road cycling, we had a genuine chance of winning gold in 3 of 4 events, but came away without a medal.

Australia favourites in 4 individual events in 2 days, and lost them all. If it wasn't for Stephanie Rice, we would be in a lot of trouble on the medal tally.

The Australian Olympic Committee has stated its goal for Australia to retain a top 5 position on the medal table. Based on results during the past 12 months, the AOC predict 20 Gold medals and 44 total; which would still be bettered by Germany. Personally i think Australia should aim for 4th sport with 20 Gold medals and 50 total. Gold chances in: AQUATICS: M 50, 100, 400, 1500 free; 10m platform individual; W 50, 100, 4x100 free; 100, 200 breaststroke and butterfly; 100 back; 200, 400 IM; water polo, 10m platform individual & platform. ARCHERY: M singles ATHLETICS: M 5000m, pole vault. BASKETBALL: Women's CYCLING: M Road race, time trial, sprint, team pursuit; W Road race, Sprint, individual pursuit, points race. EQUESTRIAN: Team eventing HOCKEY: Mens and Womens ROWING: M Coxless pairs, 8's; W double sculls SHOOTING: M Trap, a rifle event (I can't remember which one!) SAILING: M 470, Laser; Tornado TRIATHLON: Men's and Women's TENNIS: W doubles VOLLEYBALL: Women's

Its a shame Dennis Commetti won't be calling the swimming. Have they announced who will be calling the Cycling (that fantastic British expat commentator i presume, whom I've forgotten the name), Gymnastics, Basketball, Weightlifting, Football, Rowing, Canoe/Kayak and Tennis (I don't really care about the rest- which 7 probably won't give much coverage to anyway)?

Thats quite a large team for a nation not really predicted to finish top 10 or 12. What goals does the Canadian Olympic Committee have for the team (i.e. AOC's "goal" is for Aus to retain top 5 in rankings).