O Canada! Vancouver lands Games

PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- Vancouver was awarded the 2010 Winter Olympics on Wednesday, taking the games back to Canada for the first time since 1988.

The International Olympic Committee selected the British Columbia city over bids from Salzburg, Austria, and Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Salzburg was eliminated in the first round of the secret ballot, setting up the final vote between Vancouver and Pyeongchang.

With a simple majority needed for victory, Pyeongchang won the most votes in the first round with 51, followed by Vancouver with 40 and Salzburg with 16. Vancouver then defeated Pyeongchang 56-53 in the final round.

The words that Canada had waited to hear came from IOC president Jacques Rogge, who opened a white envelope and declared: "The International Olympic Committee has the honor of announcing that the 21st Olympic Winter Games are awarded to the city of Vancouver."

In Vancouver, wild cheering and flag-waving erupted among those who gathered to watch the announcement at a downtown arena and about 90 miles away at a Whistler ski resort.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. We did it!" screamed Jennifer Goepel, 28, on the floor of the General Motors Place where the city's main celebration occurred. Her face was painted red and white with the Canadian maple leaf.

Vancouver, the scenic Pacific coastal city whose bid is paired with the ski resort of Whistler, had been considered the front-runner for most of the campaign.

Calgary last to host

Canada hasn't had the Olympics since Calgary hosted the 1988 Winter Games. Austria's last Olympics was the 1976 Innsbruck Games. South Korea staged the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, but no winter games have ever been held in an Asian country other than Japan.

The 2010 result could have major implications in the race for a bigger prize -- the 2012 Summer Olympics. A marquee field featuring New York, Paris, London, Madrid and Moscow, among others, is already in the race for 2012.

Awarding the 2010 games to North America leaves Europe in a strong position for 2012 -- at the expense of New York.

"We were completely agnostic about the outcome of this," said Dan Doctoroff, the leader of New York's 2012 bid who was in Prague as an observer. "From our particular perspective we really didn't feel like we had a stake in the outcome here. ... The reality is the winter and summer games are (on) a different track."

The biggest surprise was the showing by Pyeongchang, the least known of the candidates. Pyeongchang came within three votes of winning in the first round in what would have been a stunning upset. But Vancouver picked up Salzburg's votes in the second round to prevail.

Cho Myung-soo, vice governor of Gangwon province, said he was disappointed but hopeful for the future. "We will try again in 2014," he said.