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OMalley, mayor of D.C. make a show in Sydney 
Politicians pitch bid for their cities in 2012

By Paul McMullen
Sun Staff

SYDNEY, Australia - Two days ago, Baltimore Mayor Martin OMalley attended Mass at
St. Marys Cathedral in Hyde Park during his visit to the Summer Olympics. But, even in
church, the Games werent far away. 

"The mens triathlon was competing with the Eucharist," OMalley said. "You knew when
the cyclists were coming by, because you would hear this Yea! over the priest." 

OMalley wants the Olympic triathlon to be conducted at the Inner Harbor in 2012. He and
his counterpart from Washington, Anthony A. Williams, came to the Sydney Olympics to
promote the bid of the Washington-Baltimore Regional 2012 Coalition, which aims to
land the worlds premier sporting event. 

"Our bid is one of the real races here," said Dan Knise, president and chief executive
officer of the coalition, which is competing against seven cities for the right to represent
the United States in the 2012 bid process. 

The U.S. Olympic Committee will select one of the bids in fall 2002. The American bid is
viewed as the early favorite for the 2012 Games, which will be awarded by the
International Olympic Committee in 2005. 

The bid process has a long history of corruption. Fallout from bribes associated with Salt
Lake Citys selection for the 2002 Winter Olympics continues, and new IOC rules
prohibit the Washington-Baltimore Coalition from lobbying IOC members. 

OMalley and Williams can promote their cities and lobby the USOC. Knise said they are
the only mayors from American bid cities, which include San Francisco, Dallas,
Cincinnati, Houston, New York, Los Angeles and Tampa-Orlando, Fla., to come to
Australia. 

"The fact that we both took time out from busy schedules says a lot," OMalley said. "This
is a serious bid, and were both committed to making it successful. Our presence
underscores that and sets us apart from other cities. Win or lose, this has forced us to
think about our shared assets and to work cooperatively." 

On Thursday, OMalley and Williams will do a behind-the-scenes tour of the Olympic
Village at Homebush Bay, an industrial wasteland that was converted into a hub of arenas
and stadiums where hundreds of thousands of athletes, media and spectators converge. 

There is no centralized venue in the Washington-Baltimore bid, which would stretch from
Northern Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay to Camden Yards. 

"One of the things that strikes you about this is the tremendous amount of logistics
involved, from transportation to accommodations to venues," OMalley said. 

"We have a leg up on a lot of bid cities in that we already have great facilities. The
challenge is the transportation piece. As mayors, that excites us, because transportation
has an ongoing benefit." 

The mayors were among the 18,000 at the International Aquatic Center on Saturday, when
Australian Ian Thorpe had a hand in a couple of world records. 

Williams saw Baltimores Michael Phelps swim last night. OMalley has attended mens
gymnastics and boxing, and sang onstage at Country Roads, a pub in the Rocks district. 

OMalley said he has been overwhelmed by the reception visitors have received here. 

"Coming from an American perspective, one of the pitfalls of this is how you balance the
corporate and public sides," OMalley said. "Compared to the Democratic convention, its
obvious that this is not a corporate-owned event. Its something the people of Sydney have
put on for the world." 


Originally published Sep 19 2000