Rio wins 2016 Olympics bid. Here's how top-seeded Chicago lost its mojo

Updated

Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games was eliminated in the first round of voting in Copenhagen, losing to Rio de Janeiro. The results of the final vote were announced at 12:50 p.m. EDT.

To those who haven't been paying much attention, it's probably a huge surprise that Chicago was knocked out so quickly. The city was the odds-on favorite of bookmakers and a close second to Rio in GamesBids.com's index. And President Obama and the First Lady traveled to Copenhagen to make a personal pitch, to the consternation of Republican party leaders. But those keeping score at home have known since last summer that Chicago 2016 had lost its mojo.

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