Dick Pound told the Toronto Sun he will remain netural when it comes to the 2008 Summer Olympic bid, even though there are those who believe that as a Canadian, he should throw his support behind the bid.
Pound, who lives in Montreal, said that if he could vote for the 2008 host city, he would vote for whatever city he felt had the best bid. Period. But Pound can’t vote for the site of the 2008 Summer Games. No IOC member from a country bidding for an Olympic Games is allowed to vote.
And because five International Olympic Committee members come from Canada, Canada will automatically lose five votes.
But Pound said he’s not turning his back on Canada’ “I’m delighed Toronto is bidding for the 2008 Games. I think Toronto could do a fabulous job, given the chance. Toronto could have done a much better job in 1996 than the city we chose”, (Atlanta).
He said he hoped the bid is successful. “Whether it is on this occasion, I hope Toronto will keep trying until we have the chance to show again that Canada is the perfect host for the Games. We’ve done it twice and we certainly can do it again”.
