Mexican city of Guadalajara withdraws Youth Olympics bid citing tight finances

Guadalajara withdraws Youth Olympics bid

MEXICO CITY — The Mexican city of Guadalajara withdrew as a candidate to host the 2014 Youth Olympic Games on Saturday, leaving only Nanjing, China, and Poznan, Poland, in the race.

The governor of the state of Jalisco, in which Guadalajara is located, said in a statement that tight finances meant officials needed to focus on preparations for the 2011 Pan American Games, which will be held in Mexico’s No. 2 city.

The IOC said this month that Nanjing presented the least risk of the three bids. The evaluation should make the Chinese city the favorite when IOC members vote for a host city on Feb. 10 in Vancouver ahead of the Winter Olympics.

“Notwithstanding the effort made, in the face of time and financial restrictions and because of the need to concentrate on the Pan American Games, under such conditions it’s impossible to simultaneously take on two important and complex events,” Jalisco Governor Emilio Gonzalez Marquez said in a statement.

He said the Mexican Olympic Committee and state and municipal officials had agreed unanimously to withdraw.

Building for next year’s Pan Ams has been behind schedule. Plans call for a stadium for athletics, an aquatic center and an athletes’ village.

The inaugural Youth Games will be in Singapore from Aug. 14-26. The first winter version will take place in Innsbruck, Austria, in 2012.

The 2014 Youth Olympics is scheduled for 12 days with up to 3,500 athletes.