Leaders of Paris' bid to host the 2024 Olympics "took goodwill messages from campaign rivals to meetings with the IOC on Thursday." Six days after deadly terror attacks on their city, Paris bid staffers "fulfilled long-scheduled plans to discuss strategy with Olympic officials." Bid co-President Tony Estanguet said that "the Paris team took strength from opponents in the two-year bidding race who showed their solidarity." He said, "They were very kind. There is this special team spirit in sport. We received a very powerful message from the international sports community that we had to fight to defend the values of humanity" (AP, 11/22). ... The European Olympic Committees said that "a decision about the host of the 2019 European Games will be delayed due to the Russian doping scandal." EOC President Patrick Hickey told the general assembly in Prague on Friday that after the Netherlands pulled out "our preferred host nation was Russia." But Russia "cannot host or bid for international events after its athletics federation was suspended by the IAAF" (AP, 11/20). ... The South African Hockey Association said that "it will look at ways of trying to get the men’s and women’s teams to the 2016 Olympics after they were rejected by the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee." SAHA said that "it had received a letter" from SASCOC informing them that the teams would not go to the Rio Games next August. It is the first time since readmission in '92 that SA "will have no hockey team at an Olympics" (TIMES LIVE, 11/21).
