Rogge surprised by Pyeongchang's first-round win

JOHANNESBURG - International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge said on Wednesday that Pyeongchang's resounding first-round win in the contest to host the 2018 Winter Olympics had taken even him by surprise.

Speaking after the South Korean city claimed 63 IOC members' votes - beating out Munich (Germany), with 25 votes, and Annecy (France), with seven - Rogge said he had not expected any of the cities to claim a majority in the first round of voting.

"I did not expect a victory on the first round, frankly speaking. I thought that there would be at least two rounds. But well done. The best one has won convincingly," Rogge told journalists after joining the Pyeongchang delegation in a ceremony to sign the city's host contract.