American athletics legend Michael Johnson said Tuesday that Los Angeles’ bid for the 2024 Olympics comes with “very little risk” and has great support among the residents of the city.
The battle for the Games is hotting up and has come down to a straight fight between Los Angeles and Paris, with a decision due in September.
Both presented their bids to international federations on Tuesday in Aarhus.
In Demark to support the Los Angeles bid, Johnson told AFP that he had been inspired as a child watching the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles on television.
Asked what having the games in Los Angeles again would mean to him personally, the former sprinter said: “It would be amazing, the last time the USA had the Games it was very special for me in 1996 in Atlanta (where he won 200m and 400m gold)… I would love to see that happen.”
Also in Denmark, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the French city was “destined” to host the 2024 Olympics.
But Johnson said he believes Los Angeles holds a clear edge.
“Both are fantastic cities, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.
“But I think that it’s critical that the next city to host the Games after Tokyo is seen as a choice that comes with very little risk and one that has a tremendous amount of local support, those two things are critical.”
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