The Associated Press reports that former International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Juan Antonio Samaranch told the German agency DPA Monday that Madrid was handicapped by an impressive Rio de Janeiro bid and by the Summer Games going to London in 2012.
He said, “I gave my opinion at the time but when the majority wanted to go for it in ’16, all I could do was help as much as I could”.
When asked if he would back Madrid bidding for the 2020 Summer Games Samaranch said, “I won’t be in this world”.
Samaranch added, “what hurt Madrid the most was the repeat of the continent. Secondly, a lot of Europeans didn’t vote for Madrid because they were already thinking about presenting in ’20 or ’24”.
