WARSAW, Poland: Poland still has a chance to host the 2022 Winter Games despite the resignation of the bid committee president, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Sunday.
Jagna Marczulajtis-Walczak resigned Saturday under media allegations that her husband, Andrzej Walczak, sought journalists' support for the games in exchange for money. Marczulajtis-Walczak distanced herself from the reports, but said she was reacting to the "smear campaign" and media hostility to the games.
Marczulajtis-Walczak competed in snowboard in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 Winter Games.
On Sunday, Tusk said he regretted the official's departure but added that Poland and neighboring Slovakia could still host the games.
Under Krakow's bid plans, Alpine ski events would be held across the border in Jasna, Slovakia. It would be the first time the Winter Games would be spread over two countries.
On May 25, Krakow residents are to vote in a referendum on whether they support hosting the games. The vote was requested by the city mayor, Jacek Majchrowski.
Krakow is one of five cities bidding for the 2022 Games, along with Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Lviv, Ukraine; and Oslo.
The IOC will select the host city on July 31, 2015, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
