Coincidence or trend? After Poland, a second potential candidate for the Summer Games in 2036 is in turn reviewing its plans. Mexico, which had made no secret of its intention to enter the race, decided to give up the Olympic and Paralympic meeting to concentrate on an objective presumed to be more within its reach: the Youth Games. The president of the Mexican Olympic Committee (COM), Maria Jose Alcala (photo above), explained this to the agency on Tuesday January 16 Reuters : « We spoke with the IOC and saw that the competition was very tough. So we are turning around to see if we can bid for the Youth Olympics, where we would have a great chance. This project could be completed before the Summer Games in 2036.” The message is clear: Mexico is lowering the level of its ambition a notch. It is now targeting the Youth Games, in 2030 or 2034, an intermediate step before aiming again for the Olympic Games, in 2040 or beyond. As a reminder, the next Summer Youth Games have been awarded to Senegal. Initially planned for 2022, they were postponed by four years. Maria Jose Alcala also confided that the decision of Panam Sports to withdraw the Colombian city of Barranquilla from hosting the Pan American Games in 2027 had given ideas to Mexico. She confirmed that the national Olympic committee had been approached by the authorities of Nuevo Leon, a state in the northeast of the country, with the prospect of submitting a candidacy. Lima, in Peru, and Asunción, in Paraguay, have already applied for the 2027 edition. Colombia, for its part, has not given up on recovering the event.
