Rio de Janeiro wins right to host 2016 Olympics, beating Madrid in final IOC vote

Rio de Janeiro wins right to host 2016 Olympics

COPENHAGEN — The 2016 Olympics are going to Rio de Janeiro, putting the games in South America for the first time.

Rio beat surprise finalist Madrid in the last round of voting.

Chicago was knocked out in the first round — in one of the most shocking defeats ever handed down by the International Olympic Committee — and Tokyo was eliminated in the second round.

Rio had played heavily on the fact that South America has never previously hosted the games, while Europe, Asia and North America have done so repeatedly. Now, only Africa and Antarctica remain as continents that have not been awarded an Olympics.