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US Olympic leader ‘optimistic’ after meeting potential bidders

AP

After meeting this week with representatives for cities in the running for a 2024 Summer Olympics bid — including Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh — the head of the US Olympic Committee said today he feels good about the nation’s prospects.

“Our discussions this week have created a foundation for something that could be truly unique,” USOC Chairman Larry Probst said in a statement. “There is a great deal of work left to do before we can make a decision, but I’m more optimistic than ever that a U.S. bid for the 2024 Games can be successful.”

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Officials from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., came together at the USOC headquarters in Colorado for a briefing. The mayors of Boston and L.A. both attended in person.

Walsh has said he sees the event as an opportunity to better understand the level of interest by the USOC and the other cities named as potential hosts.

“I think it’s a very interesting, unique idea,” Walsh said Wednesday. “I want to see what is the cost. I think short- and long-term implications of the games are going to be good for Boston.”

Walsh’s office had no comment late Friday.

Among Walsh’s entourage was John Fish, a city business leader and key booster of the city’s potential bid.

RELATED: John Fish went from struggling boy to Olympic bidder

The USOC won’t decide until early next year whether it will make a bid at all. If it elects to put forth a candidate, that city would compete with communities from around the globe. Other areas that may be candidates include Rome, Paris, Doha, and Istanbul.