Guatemala City – Vladimir Putin pulled off for Russia in the latest Olympic vote what Tony Blair did for Britain.
Backed by the Russian president’s personal lobbying, charisma and government support, the Black Sea resort of Sochi was elected Wednesday as the host city of the 2014 Winter Games.
Sochi defeated the South Korean city of Pyeongchang by four votes in the final round of a secret ballot by the International Olympic Committee, taking the Winter Games to Russia for the first time.
The result was a personal triumph for “the captain,” who put his international prestige on the line by coming to Guatemala to lobby IOC members and lead Sochi’s final formal presentation.
“Putin being here was very important,” French IOC member and former ski champion Jean-Claude Killy said. “He worked very hard at it. He was nice. He spoke French – he never speaks French. He spoke English – he never speaks English.”
The Austrian resort of Salzburg was eliminated in the first round, unable to compete with the political and economic might of its Russian and Korean rivals.
The Putin magic matched Blair’s influence on London’s victory in the race for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Blair was instrumental in wooing IOC members in Singapore in 2005, helping London defeat Paris, Madrid, Spain New York and Moscow. Putin did not travel to Singapore for that bid, which lost in the first round.
The fact that Russia, an Olympic power which has won 293 Winter Games medals, has never hosted the Winter Games was a strong point in Sochi’s favor with the IOC, which likes to spread the Olympics to new host countries.
MLS
D.C. United takes Eastern lead
Luciano Emilio scored for the fifth straight game and D.C. United took over first place in the Eastern Conference with a 1-0 victory over the visiting Kansas City Wizards.
Emilio scored in the 44th minute, beating goalkeeper Kevin Hartman with a right-footed shot from 10 yards.
Substitute Ramon Nuñez scored his first goal in more than two months and Dario Sala earned his third straight shutout to lead host FC Dallas to a 2-0 victory over Chivas USA.
Collin Samuel scored on a penalty kick in the 79th minute as visiting Toronto FC beat Real Salt Lake 2-1.
Landon Donovan scored two goals, both on penalty kicks, as the host Los Angeles Galaxy defeated the Chicago Fire 2-0.
HORSE RACING
Funny Cide a winner once again
Four years removed from making a run at a Triple Crown, Funny Cide returned to the winner’s circle at a track far removed from the majesty of Churchill Downs.
The 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner captured the 31st running of the $100,000 Wadsworth Memorial Handicap at Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack Farmington, N.Y., driving past pace-setting Johnie Bye Night down the stretch and pulling away by three lengths at the finish.
Any Given Saturday, making his first start since finishing eighth in the Kentucky Derby, drew away to a 4-length win in the $147,000 Dwyer Stakes for 3-year-olds at Belmont Park in New York.
MOTORSPORTS
NASCAR penalizes two Cup teams
NASCAR has penalized the Nextel Cup teams of Kyle Busch and Johnny Sauter for rule infractions found on their cars during the postrace inspection after Sunday’s race at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Both the No. 5 Chevrolet of Busch and the No. 70 Chevrolet of Sauter were found to have used unapproved parts and failed to meet the minimum front car heights.
NASCAR said Busch and Sauter were each penalized 25 points and their respective crew chiefs, Alan Gustafson and Robert Barker, were each fined $25,000 and placed on probation until Sept. 19.
FOOTNOTES
African runners prevail at Peachtree
Martin Irungu of Kenya won the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, leading from start to finish in his first time running the 10-kilometer course.
Wude Ayalew of Ethiopia was the women’s winner in a field featuring 55,000 runners, the nation’s largest 10K event.
Irungu covered the 6.2 miles in 28 minutes, 1 second, winning in a final sprint. U.S. 10K champion Abdi Abdiraham of Tucson was second in 28:12. Ayalew won in 31:44. She was followed by Alice Timbilili of Kenya in 31:48.
Liverpool, aiming to end a 17-year wait for a record- extending 19th English League soccer title, signed Fernando Torres to a six-year contract to boost an attack that scored less than its main rivals last season. The 23-year-old Spanish striker had spent his entire career with Atletico Madrid, scoring 82 goals in 214 appearances since debuting as a 17-year-old.
Former Michigan star and major-league pitcher Jim Abbott was one of 11 former players and coaches inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in Lubbock, Texas. Other former players named to the hall’s second class included Pete Incaviglia (Oklahoma State), Fred Lynn (Southern California) and John Olerud (Washington State).
Al Williams, a member of Drake’s 1969 NCAA Final Four team and one of the school’s all-time leading rebounders, died of liver cancer. He was 60.
The United States was eliminated from the Copa America soccer tournament when Brazil defeated Ecuador 1-0 and Mexico played to a 0-0 tie against Chile in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela.
