Sports

Obama says Olympic host decisions a little 'cooked'

US President Barack Obama speaks to his wife Michelle after presenting Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics in Copenhagen on October 2, 2009. Photo: Afp file

President Barack Obama has suggested that decisions on who hosts the Olympics are corrupt, in a wide-ranging interview that touched on Chicago's failed 2016 bid.

In an interview published late Sunday, Obama recalled his 2009 travel to Copenhagen in a failed effort to get his adopted home city across the finishing line.

"Everybody thought that if I flew out there we had a good chance of getting it, and it might be worth essentially just taking a one-day trip," Obama told New York magazine.

"Subsequently, I think we've learned that IOC's decisions are similar to FIFA's decisions: a little bit cooked," he said comparing the International Olympic Committee to football's scandalized governing body.

The loss for Chicago was seen as a political blow for Obama.

Rio eventually emerged from a crowded field to win the right to host the games.

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