Welcome!

Welcome to the official blog of the
Chicago Metropolitan Organizing Committee (CMOC)

P.O. Box 87545 Chicago, Illinois 60680 USA
www.chicago2016.net - www.cmoc.com - Email info@cmoc.com

Scroll down for news, information and updates...

2016 Olympic Bid Update

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has announced they have narrowed the cities in consideration for a potential Olympic bid.

Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco will continue to be evaulated while Houston and Philadelphia will not move forward in this current process.

It is important to note the USOC has not yet determined if they will submit any city for consideration of the 2016 Olympic Games. That decision is not expected until later in 2006.

We believe the Chicago area has great potential for an Olympic Games and strongly support the USOC's process to evaluate all factors before making any final decision.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will choose a host for the 2016 Olympic Games in 2009.

Shani Davis Honored with World Series Champs

AP

Olympic hero, world-record speedskater and multiple medalist SHANI DAVIS from the Chicago area throws the ceremonial first pitch and is honored by thousands on Tuesday, April 4th as the World Series Champion Chicago White Sox host the Cleveland Indians at U.S. Cellular Field.

World Series Champs Chicago White Sox

The 2005 World Series Champion Chicago White Sox start the 2006 season on Sunday, April 2 at 7:05pm CT at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago against the Cleveland Indians.

2005 was a historic season and Chicago metro baseball fans around the world are looking forward to new memories.

On Sunday evening, you can watch the game live from anywhere in the world via the internet from MLB.com.

Thanks Torino!

Getty

Thanks to the thousands who prepared and participated along with the millions of spectators who watched the XXth Winter Olympic Games. Thanks to Italy and the region surrounding Torino!

:::Torino 2006
:::::::Beijing 2008
::::::::::Vancouver 2010
::::::::::::::::::London 2012

When the Athletes Come Marching In...

Getty

The athletes of the world come together at the Closing Ceremony of the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

Olympic Hero Shani Davis at the Closing Ceremony

AP

One of the Chicago area's Olympic stars Shani Davis has fans among the athletes.

One World

Getty

Torino | Andrea Bocelli at the Closing Ceremony

Getty

Andrea Bocelli performs at Closing Ceremony of the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

Stars Light Up the Torino Sky

Getty

Torino | Ricky Martin at the Closing Ceremony

Getty

Ricky Martin performs at the Closing Ceremony of the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

Torino's Closing Party

Getty

Rays of Hope

Getty

Torino Flame | Last Look

Transition | Torino to Vancouver

Getty

Sam Sullivan, the Mayor of Vancouver, takes the Olympic flag at the Closing Cermony of the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games. Vancouver will host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Next Winter Games | Vancouver 2010

Getty

We look forward to next Winter Olympic Games of Vancouver 2010!

Beijing will host the Summer Olympic Games in 2008.

Torino's Final Medal is Gold for Italy

Getty

In the final medal ceremony of the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games, Italy's Giorgio di Centa (center of podium) is awarded the Gold Medal for the 50km Cross Country during the Closing Ceremony at Stadio Olimpico. Eugeni Dementiev of Russia won the Silver and Mikhail Botwinov of Austria won the Bronze.

Torino | Behind the Scenes

There are many people from the Chicago area who have worked behind the scenes to help with the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games and our own efforts in one way or another, including communication, sponsors, volunteers, spectators, technical experts, bloggers and the many media (and their support teams) from our region.

We can't name everyone, but we thought we would give a couple honorary medals to Paula Faris and Rob Elgas of NBC5 Chicago (WMAQ-TV) for giving all those live reports, usually at an odd hour in Italy to keep the Chicago metropolitan area informed about the pulse of the Winter Olympic Games and the progress of our local heroes. Thanks to everyone's efforts!

Torino Closing Ceremonies Preview

Andrea Bocelli, seen above at one of the nightly concerts at the Medals Plaza, is expected to be part of the spectacular Closing Ceremonies at the XXth Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy.

Speedskater Joey Cheek, who has won multiple medals during these Winter Olympic Games, will lead the U.S. Olympic Team into the Closing Ceremonies.

U.S. viewers can watch complete coverage of the Closing Ceremonies on NBC.

Apolo Anton Ohno's Olympic Dream

Getty

Congratulations to Apolo Anton Ohno from the United States for winning the Gold Medal in Short Track Speedskating's 500m and for his dedication to pursue his Olympic dream!

Apolo's 500m Perfection

Getty

At the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games, Apolo Anton Ohno (center) of the United States wins the Gold Medal in the Men's 500m for Speedskating Short Track. Apolo blazed to what many consider one of the best performances in 500m history.

G: Apolo Anton Ohno (United States)
S: Francois-Louis Tremblay (Canada)
B: Hyun-Soo Ahn (Korea)

USA 5000m Relay Team Wins Bronze

Getty

Congratulations to the Men's 5000m Relay Team in Speedskating Short Track for winning the Bronze Medal at the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games. From left to right, Alex Izykowski (#251), Apolo Anton Ohno (#254), Rusty Smith (#255) and J.P. Kepka of the United States.

Canada's Clara Hughes Jumps for Gold

Getty

Clara Hughes of Canada shows her excitement for winning the Gold Medal in the Women's 5000m Speedskating final on Day 15 of the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

Torino | Giant Slalom Final Course

Olympic Spirit at the Giant Slalom Course

Getty

Flags spread around the night crowd at the bottom of the Men's Alpine Giant Slalom Course at the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

Chicago Area's Lorenzo Smith Elevates USA

Getty - Cecana Pariol, Italy

Congratulations to the Chicago area's Lorenzo Smith for being part of the top USA bobsled team at the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games!

Smith's Four Man Bobsled team that finished 6th overall included pilot Steve Holcomb, Curt Tomasevicz and Bill Schuffenhauer.

Torino | 4 Man Bobsled

Getty

As the sun sets on Day 15 at the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games, the 4 Man Bobsled streaks by spectators.

Julia Mancuso Blazes to Gold

AP

Congratulations to Julia Mancuso of the United States for winning the Gold Medal in the Women's Giant Slalom at the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games!

Tanja Poutiainen of Finland won the Silver and Anna Ottosson of Sweden won the Bronze.

Sasha Wins Silver Medal

AP

USA's Sasha Cohen (left) wins the Silver Medal in Women's Figure Skating at the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

Sasha is joined by Gold Medalist Shizuka Arakawa from Japan (center) and Bronze Medalist Irina Slutskaya from Russia (right).

Shani Davis Silver Medal

AP

Women Bobsled Medalists

AP

The 2 Woman Bobled medalists include Valerie Fleming and Shauna Rohbock of the United States (left) who won the Silver, along with Germany's Anja Schniderheinze and Sandra Kirasis with the Gold, and Italy's Jennifer Isacco and Gerda Weissensteiner with the Bronze at the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

Shani Davis Wins Silver and Everyone Wins!

AP

Congratulations to the Chicago area's Shani Davis for winning the Silver Medal in Speedskating's 1500m race at the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games!

Shani, who previously won the Gold Medal in the 1000m, finished 0.16 seconds behind Italy's Enrico Fabris. Chad Hedrick (USA) finished 3rd and won the Bronze.

The intensely competitive race where hundredths of a second separated each other featured several medal winners, including USA's Joey Cheek who finished 9th, USA's Derek Parra who won the Gold at Salt Lake and other medalists in Torino.

G: Enrico Fabris (Italy)
S: Shani Davis (United States)
B: Chad Hedrick (United States)

Congratuations to everyone for their efforts and success!

Congratulations to Italy's Enrico Fabris

Reuters

Chicago area's Shani Davis congratulates Italy's Enrico Fabris, who had a blazing last lap to capture the Gold for the 1500m at Torino, just 0.16 seconds ahead of Shani Davis.

This is the third medal for Fabris, who has made the Italian hosts very happy and insures the ceremony to come at the Medals Plaza will be very crowded.

The New Speed Racer

Reuters

Chicago area's Shani Davis, shown above at the 1500m race, demonstrates technical expertise combined with speed. Shani previously had the World Record in the 1500m and currently has the World Record in the 1000m, which he won the Gold.

Shani Davis Ends 1500m With Smile and Silver

Reuters

Chicago area's Shani Davis with a smile after just finishing his race that gives him the Silver Medal in the 1500m, just behind Italy's Enrico Fabris and ahead of USA's Chad Hedrick.

Sasha Leads the Way

Getty

The popular women's figure skating competition has begun at the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games and USA's Sasha Cohen takes the lead in the short program.

Torino Welcomes Emily Hughes

Getty

Emily Hughes, who replaced Michelle Kwan on the U.S. team, performs at the short program at the XXth Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy. Emily's sister Sarah won the Gold at Salt Lake 2002.

News Alert ::: Shani Davis Wins Silver Medal!

(Torino) Chicago's Shani Davis has won the Silver Medal at the Men's 1500m speedskating race, just 0.16 seconds behind Italy's Enrico Fabris, who won the Gold Medal.

Shani Davis beat Chad Hedrick, who won the Bronze. This is Shani's second medal after winning the Gold for the 1000m.

G: Enrico Fabris (ITA)
S: Shani Davis (USA)
B: Chad Hedrick (USA)

USA's Joey Cheek, who won the Gold in the 500m, finished 9th. Former Salt Lake 2002 winner for the Gold, Derek Parra (USA), finished 19th.

For viewers in the United States, please see NBC's primetime coverage tonight.

Ben Agosto and Tanith Belbin Win 1st USA Ice Dancing Medal in 30 Years!

Getty

For the first time in 30 years, the United States has an ice dancing team that is getting a medal. Chicago area's Ben Agosto and new American partner Tanith Belbin won the Silver Medal in Ice Dancing at the XXth Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy.

2005 World Champions Tatyana Navka and Roman Kostomarov from Russia won the Gold, followed by Yelena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov of Ukraine for the Bronze.

Chicago area's Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov finished 14th while USA's Jamie Silverstein and Ryan O'Meara finished 16th.

Congratulations!

USA Women's Hockey Wins Bronze

Getty

USA Women's Hockey wins the Bronze Medal after defeating Finland!

Team Canada Wins Women's Ice Hockey Gold

Reuters

Team Canada wins the Gold in Women's Ice Hockey after defeating Sweden at the 2006 Torino Winter Olympic Games.

Room With a View

Getty

The backdrop of the Olympic Village in Bardonecchia, Italy.

Rising Stars | Ben Agosto and Tanith Belbin

Getty

Chicago area's Ben Agosto and Tanith Belbin light up the Italian ice with a great performance moving to 2nd place from 6th place prior to the final night of competition.

Melissa Gregory, from the Chicago area, and Denis Petukhov, improved from 15th place to 14th for original dance in the highly competitive field.

Magical Medal Moments

AP

Thousands from across the world gather under snowflakes at the Medals Plaza in Torino, including the ceremony for Gold Medalist Shani Davis and Silver Medalist Joey Cheek, both from the United States.

On the Podium

AP

Speedskating Gold Medalist Shani Davis is joined at the Medal Ceremony by USA's Joey Cheek (left) who recieved the Silver and Erben Wennemars (right) of the Netherlands, who got the Bronze.

The Dutch later got the Gold in the Women's 1000m race with Marianne Timmer's victory.

Gold Medal Speaks Louder than Words

AP

We agree with Shani Davis. The Gold Medal speaks for itself.

Congratulations to Shani's supporters and friends from Evanston to the south side of Chicago to the region and people all over the world who have been waiting for this moment.

Olympic Spirit Thrives in Speedskating

Reuters

USA is fortunate to have some superstars in Speedskating over the years, such as Eric Heiden, Bonnie Blair, Dan Jensen and more recent stars like Shani Davis, Apolo Anton Ohno and Joey Cheek. The Dutch LOVE speedskating and it shows. They even brought their own band to Torino to help the already energetic crowd. And they love Chicago area's Shani Davis, too.

Apolo Anton Ohno's Diverse Medal Collection

Reuters

Apolo Anton Ohno displays his Bronze Medal from Saturday's 1000m Speedskating Short-Track, another medal to go along with his Gold and Silver from Salt Lake. Congratuations Apolo!

Chicago Area's Shani Davis Wins Gold!

AP

In the highly-anticipated Speedskating 1000m Final, the Chicago area's SHANI DAVIS wins the Gold Medal! Congratulations Shani for making history at the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games!

USA's Joey Cheek (left) received the Silver Medal. Erben Wennemars (right) of the Netherlands got the Bronze.

Ben Agosto and Tanith Belbin

AP

Chicago area's Ben Agosto with Tanith Belbin in Friday's Ice Dancing program at the XXth Winter Olympic Games in Torino.

More Snowboard Cross History

Getty

In a dramatic ending to the Women's Snowboard Cross Final, USA's Lindsey Jacobellis (right) crashes near the finish, allowing Switzerland's Tanja Frieden (left) to sail past for the Gold Medal. Lindsey gets the Silver Medal...the first in Olympic history for the exciting new sport.

Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov

Getty

Chicago area's Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukov in Friday's Ice Dancing program at the XXth Winter Olympic Games in Torino.