Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie make pitch for Olympic golf ahead of IOC vote in Copenhagen

Woods, Wie lobby for golf in 2016 Olympics

Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie are making a pitch for golf to enter the program for the 2016 Rid de Janeiro Olympics.

Woods will address the International Olympic Committee in a videotaped message during golf’s presentation in Copenhagen on Friday. Golf and rugby sevens each need a majority vote by IOC members to be included in the 2016 Games.

Wie arrived in Copenhagen on Wednesday to help persuade the IOC to add golf among the 26 Olympic sports. Wie and Suzann Pettersen of Norway said they consider an Olympic gold more prestigious than a major championship.

“I think it would be the highest achievement for any golfer, or for any athlete, to be part of the Olympics,” Wie said.

Both camps will make a 20-minute presentation before the vote.

The IOC executive board recommended golf and rugby for inclusion in the 2016 Olympics in August, beating out softball, baseball, squash, karate and roller sports.

That would bring the number of sports back up to 28, after baseball and softball were dropped for the 2012 London Olympics.

Also during the IOC meetings in Copenhagen on Wednesday, organizers for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics promised a balanced budget for the games.

John Furlong, the chief executive of the organizing committee, told the IOC in his final progress report that the financial picture has improved in the last few months.

“We know our costs, we have a pretty good handle on our revenues,” Furlong told The Associated Press. “And based on what is happening on that side, our view is that we will get to the finish line and have a positive (financial) outcome.”

VANOC had previously reported a shortfall of up to $37 million on its $1.75 billion operating budget. The IOC has pledged financial assistance if the organizing committee ends up with a deficit.

Meanwhile, the IOC reported its reserve fund is still growing despite the global financial crisis.

IOC president Jacques Rogge said the committee’s reserve fund grew to $455 million at the end of August. At the end of 2001, the fund was worth $105 million. It grew to $422 million by the end of 2008.

On other issues, Rogge said the fight against doping is “our absolute priority” and the IOC would not hesitate to call in police to investigate suspected doping.

He also said the IOC will maintain its demand that broadcasters deliver the Olympics on free television. The IOC’s TV revenues have grown to $3.8 billion for 2010-12 and $920 million has been secured so far for 2014-16.

Officials for the 2014 Sochi Olympics say construction is “well on schedule” and the Black Sea resort city will be ready to host skiing competitions by the end of next year.

Russia is building nearly all the venues from scratch, and creating a complex infrastructure that will include more than 44 miles of new roads in the rugged Caucasus mountains. A light-rail line will connect the snow-sports venues with the ice sports arenas being built on the Black Sea coast. Sixteen new hotels also will be built.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, the president of the Sochi organizing committee, said the total budget for hosting the Olympics is unchanged at $6.6 billion. The operating budget for the actual games remains at $1.8 billion, he said.

Sochi has secured sponsorship deals worth a total of $750 million so far from tier-one sponsors whose deals are worth more than $100 million each. Chernyshenko said organizers hope to sign four more tier-one deals.

The IOC looked back at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and gave itself a positive evaluation for selecting the city, despite criticism from human rights groups.

“I am more convinced than ever that the games have and will prove to be a positive catalyst for change in China,” said Hein Verbruggen, who led the IOC’s evaluation commission.

The former IOC member’s report made no mention of the arrests and harassment of dissidents before and during the games, protests that were violently crushed in Tibet, forced evictions to clear the way for Olympic construction or other abuses documented by human rights groups.

“Awarding the games to China and allowing the Chinese citizens to welcome the world was the best path to continued dialogue between cultures and civilizations,” Verbruggen said. “Building cultural bridges will remain one of the most valuable legacies of these games.”