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Kenya Plans to Make Bid for 2016 Olympics
By TOM MALITI, Associated Press Writer NAIROBI, Kenya - Kenya plans to bid for the 2016 Olympics and bring the games to Africa for the first time.
"If Mexico could host it in 1968, and it was a poor country, why can't we?" Sports Minister Ochillo Ayacko said Thursday. "We are serious about sports. We're actually an Olympic tiger in the making. Participation includes hosting."
Kenya has dominated the long-distance track events at the Olympics since the 1970s.
On Tuesday, International Olympic Committee (news - web sites) president Jacque Rogge urged African nations to bid for the 2016 Olympics, saying he hoped the games can go "as soon as possible" to the continent.
Rogge is in Kenya on his first trip to Africa since his election as IOC (news - web sites) chief in 2001. He attended the 50th anniversary celebrations of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya, chaired by Kipchoge Keino, the 1968 Olympic gold medal winner in the 1,500 meters.
There were no African bids for the 2012 Olympics, which is being contested between Paris, New York, London, Madrid and Moscow. The IOC will select the host city in July.
The bidding process for the 2016 games won't begin until 2007, with the host city chosen in 2009.
Cape Town, South Africa, finished third in the voting for the 2004 Olympics, which were held in Athens. The Egyptian capital, Cairo, was eliminated in the early stages of the campaign for 2008.
The last major multi-sport event staged in Kenya was the 1987 All-Africa Games, the continent's main track and field competition.
The 60,000-seat stadium built for those games has since fallen into disrepair, as have the country's other main sports venues. The Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie" |
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