The Winter Olympics Will Return to America

Cheers were heard in Salt Lake City at 4:22am local time Wednesday—when confirmation came through that the Utah city would serve as host to the 2034 Winter Games. The city previously hosted the Olympics in 2002, and NBC News reports the venues that will be used a decade from now either are already in place or will be temporary structures, "thus not saddling local taxpayers with ongoing costs or an underutilized facility," according to city officials. It'll be the second time the US hosts the Games over the next decade, with the Summer Olympics slated for Los Angeles in 2028. More:

• Last-minute hurdle: "We were just cruising towards the final award and then this came up and we had to address it," says Salt Lake City bid head Fraser Bullock in reference to last-minute concerns from the International Olympic Committee about whether US authorities might clash with the World Anti-Doping Agency. In early July the Department of Justice opened a probe into alleged doping by Chinese swimmers. The move has been viewed as undercutting the power of the agency, which the New York Times reports allowed two dozen Chinese swimmers to compete at the Tokyo Games despite their positive tests for banned substances.

• And yet... NPR notes Salt Lake City was the only candidate for the 2034 Games; it cites the cost as a deterring factor, as well as climate change, which is "shrinking the number of realistic hosts."
• That makes five for America: The US has hosted the Winter Games four times prior: in Lake Placid (1932, 1980), Squaw Valley (1960), and Salt Lake City (2002).
• A bit of trivia: CNN reports Salt Lake City plans to have one of the tightest Olympic layouts ever, with all venues located within an hour's drive of the athletes village on the University of Utah campus.
• The 2030 Games: Officials on Wednesday also announced the French Alps would be the likely host of the Winter Games that will take place prior to those in Salt Lake City, so long as some financial details can be ironed out. France has hosted the Winter Olympics three times: in Chamonix (1924), Grenoble (1968), and Albertville (1992). Italy will host the Winter Games in 2026 near Milan.
• A real hustle: NPR reports that the less than 5.5 years between now and when the French Alps Games would commence is the shortest lead time any recent host city has had to prepare.

(More Olympics stories.)