IOC chief to decide over future in October at the earliest

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

BEIJING (AFP) — International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said Thursday he will decide in October at the earliest whether he seeks another mandate next year in Copenhagen.

The 65-year-old Belgian - elected in 2001 to succeed Spaniard Juan Antonio Samaranch - said that he would not just take into account how the Beijing Games had been perceived when taking his decision but also set them alongside the other three that have taken place during his reign - namely Salt Lake City (2002), Athens (2004) and Turin (2006).

"The Beijing Games would be a factor in my decision but on the same level as Salt Lake City, Turin and Athens," Rogge told AFP.

"As far as I am concerned the Games are going as I wished. But the Olympic Family is not just me. The...