Olympics | Chicago named finalist for 2016

ATHENS, Greece — Getting to the final phase was one thing. Now, Chicago has some hard work ahead to overcome weaknesses in its bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Chicago was one of four cities selected as bid finalists Wednesday, along with Tokyo; Madrid, Spain, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The lineup sets up a high-profile contest featuring major cities from the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Failing to make the International Olympic Committee short list were three cities — Doha, Qatar; Prague, Czech Republic, and Baku, Azerbaijan.

The IOC said Doha had the potential to host the Olympics and even rated the Qatari capital tied for third with Chicago in its technical assessment. But the IOC said it turned back Doha because it proposed holding the Games in October.

The finalists now advance to a 16-month race that will culminate on Oct. 2, 2009, with a secret ballot by the full IOC at its session in Copenhagen, Denmark.

"It's a very competitive field," said Chicago mayor Richard Daley, who is trying to take the Summer Olympics back to the United States for the first time since the 1996 Atlanta Games. "The competition begins now."

Chicago got a strong dose of reality in the IOC's report assessing the technical bids, which cited problems with finances and transportation, among other things.

Tokyo scored highest in the technical evaluation, which rated cities in 11 categories — including infrastructure, venues, transportation, security and finances — on a scale of 1 to 10. The Japanese capital scored an overall average of 8.4, followed by Madrid with 8.2. Chicago was back at 7.0 with Doha, with Rio at 6.5.

Notes

• The IOC suspended Iraq's national Olympic committee for "political interference" by the government, a decision that leaves Iraqi athletes in danger of missing the Beijing Games.

• Cyclists riding in the Tour de France will not risk being barred from the Beijing Olympics, despite a feud between race organizers and the sport's governing body.