WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Prime Minister Donald Tusk says Poland still has a chance to host the 2022 Winter Games despite the resignation of the bid committee president.
Jagna Marczulajtis-Walczak resigned Saturday under media allegations that her husband, Andrzej Walczak, sought journalists’ support for the games in exchange for money. Marczulajtis-Walczak distanced herself from the reports, but said she was reacting to the “smear campaign” and media hostility to the games.
On Sunday, Tusk said he regretted the minister’s departure but added that Poland and neighboring Slovakia can still host the games.
Under Krakow’s bid plans, Alpine ski events would be held across the border in Jasna, Slovakia. It would be the first time the Winter Games would be spread over two countries.
Krakow is one of five cities bidding for the 2022 Games, along with Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Lviv, Ukraine; and Oslo.
The IOC will select the host city on July 31, 2015, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
