International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Guy Drut refuted press reports claiming he no longer supports Annecy’s bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
But he conceded the French could struggle in their bid to bring the Winter Olympics back to France for the first time since Albertville in 1992, reports AFP.
L’Equipe reported Sunday that Drut and Jean-Claude Killy, two French IOC members, had washed their hands of Annecy’s bid, but Drut told AFP he refutes the reports and said he and Killy are fully committed. “It’s incorrect, bordering on dishonesty”.
“What Jean-Claude and I said is that, with our experience and knowledge of how the bidding processes for the Olympics work and are evaluated, right now we are not in a winning position”.
Drut talked about a lack of investment when it came to sending delegates worldwide to support and promote the bid, noting that in Belgrade last month when the candidates for 2018 presented their bids, “there were around six of us in Belgrade, where there were about 20 Germans (for Munich) and even more South Koreans (for PyeongChang). We weren’t suitably equipped”, he said.
Drut said he believes the negative reports will only boost Annecy’s rivals. “Munich and PyeongChang will jump at the chance to profit from this….
