GUATEMALA CITY, July 4 (UPI) -- The Russian resort city of Sochi was selected Wednesday to hold the 2014 Winter Olympics, marking the first time the country has held the winter games.
Speaking after an International Olympic Committee meeting in Guatemala, IOC President Jacques Rogge said the Russian city had narrowly beaten out South Korea's Pyeongchang for the honor, the BBC said Wednesday.
The final tally for the two cities left Sochi with 51 votes and Pyeongchang with 47.
The third finalist for the sports honor, the Austrian city of Salzburg, had been eliminated from competition in an earlier vote.
The loss by the two international locales was their second in consecutive competitions, after both missed out on the 2010 Winter Games, which went to the Canadian city of Vancouver.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had openly voiced his desire for the Olympic Games to come to his nation, even going so far as to guarantee snow in the resort city.
"You know we can turn sports competitions into a really spectacular show and we are good at it," Putin had said about his nation.
