June 27, 2007	Wednesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 11, 1428

ATHENS, June 26: The three cities bidding to host the 2014 Winter Olympics seem to be level in the race less than 10 days before the International Olympic Committee picks the winner, an expert Olympic website said.

Russia's Sochi, South Korea's Pyeongchang and Austria's Salzburg are vying to host the top winter sports event, with a decision expected on July 4 during the IOC Session in Guatemala.

In an index of 11 main criteria drawn up by the Around the Rings (ATR) website (www.aroundtherings.com), which specialises in the Olympic movement, the three cities are tied for the first time, each with 83 points out of a maximum 110.

Salzburg had led through the two-year campaign but concerns raised in an IOC evaluation report had allowed the two others to catch up just in time, ATR said.

ATR said its index was based on multiple visits by its correspondents to the cities over the past two years and coverage of their presentations around the globe.

“Scrutiny of bid documents and interviews with bid officials, IOC members and other sports leaders also influenced the rankings,” it said.

In the previous ATR power index, released in April, Salzburg led on 82 points, followed by Pyeongchang on 77 and Sochi on 75. — Reuters