Persistent Pyeongchang hopes third time is the charm

DURBAN, July 6 (Reuters) - A patient and persistent Korean city of Pyeongchang, trying not to get pipped for the third time to host the Winter Olympics, told the IOC on Wednesday years of preparation made it the best candidate to hold the 2018 Games.

Relying on the slender shoulders of its most celebrated winter athlete, figure skating gold medallist Kim Yuna, and the tearful voice of a veteran campaign official who suffered years of frustration, Pyeongchang said it was time to bring the Winter Games back to Asia.
“Pyeongchang 2018 is a national priority of the Korean government and has been so for the last 10 years,” South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak told International Olympic Committee members at their meeting in the South African city of Durban.
Pyeongchang is up against Germany’s Munich, which is trying to be the first city to host the Summer and Winter Games, and France’s Annecy, considered a long-shot. The decision will be announced later on Wednesday.
“I guarantee you the full and unconditional support of the Korean government,” Lee said. “We will make you proud.”
Pyeongchang, which was narrowly beaten by Vancouver of Canada in the contest to stage the 2010 Games and by the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi for the 2014 Olympics, has been building infrastructure over the years, waiting for its chance.
It has opened a $1.4 billion winter resort, built other venues and plans to have a high-speed rail link running in time for the Games that can whisk visitors from Seoul’s airport to the Pyeongchang slopes in 68 minutes.
Kim said that she had been training harder for her brief speech before the IOC than for many of her competitions.
“I was so nervous for my presentation,” Kim, dressed in a sleek black top and a miniskirt, told reporters after the event.
Bid spokeswoman Theresa Rah said Pyeongchang had built perseverance after losing twice, causing tears to flow for tens of thousands in South Korea who watched previous decisions on big screen TVs across the country.
South Korea, which hosted the 1988 Summer Games, has never held the Winter Olympics. The Winter Games have been held twice in Asia, with both times in neighbouring Japan.