IOC’s Rogge hails Kazakhstan dream

International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Jacques Rogge welcomed Kazakhstan’s decision to enter the race for the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

“It is my pleasure to say that, after discussions with the Kazakhstan government, they have expressed a strong wish to be a contender for the 2022 Olympic Games here in this beautiful city,” Rogge said at an Asian Olympic Council meeting in Astana.

“This is what they are aiming for. The decision upon the Games host will be made in 2015 and we would like to congratulate them.”

Rogge also complimented the Kazakhstan Olympic Committee and the organising board of Asian Winter Games for their work, adding that he had the feeling that the Games staged in Kazakhstan’s two biggest cities – Astana and Almaty – would be hugely successful.

He also expressed his satisfaction that Kazakhstan’s unpredictable climate had produced no unpleasant surprises, adding that the fact the Games were blessed with snow and ice was reassuring and important.

He also hailed the fact that Asia was the most rapidly developing continent in recent years adding that Asia was organising more and more world events, and that many more were in the pipeline.

The IOC supremo highlighted China’s 51 gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as the prime example, but stressed that other Asian countries had also achieved strong results.