2016 Olympics Won't Be in Chicago

President Obama’s gamble unfortunately didn’t pay off. Despite his best efforts (even bringing out the big guns in the form of Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to eliminate Chi-town from the running after the first round of voting on contenders to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. Brazil’s Rio won the coveted honor of hosting, according to the WashintgtonPost.com.

The President and First Lady flew all the way to Copenhagen, Denmark, to convince the IOC to allow his adopted hometown to be the first U.S. city to host the Summer Games since Atlanta in 1996 and the first to host any Olympics since Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Games in 2002. But alas, it was not meant to be. In her speech to the IOC, First Lady Michelle Obama talked about her vision of seeing the great games played in the same town where she grew up.

“Chicago’s vision for the Olympic and Paralympic movement is about so more than what we can offer the Games–it’s about what the Games can offer all of us,” said Mrs. Obama. “It’s about inspiring this generation, and building a lasting legacy for the next. It’s about our responsibility as Americans not just to put on great Games, but to use these Games as a vehicle to bring us together; to usher in a new era of international engagement; and to give us hope; and to change lives all over the world.”–WLW