Sports news: Olympic hosting files, the return of the Dortmund player, and developments in the 2030 Olympics

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier participates in the event to announce the city that his country will choose to submit a bid to host one of the upcoming Olympic Games.

The German Olympic Sports Federation said on Tuesday that Steinmeier will appear on the podium alongside the president of the federation, Thomas Weikert, to announce the results of the vote scheduled to be held by the federation’s general assembly on September 26 in the city of Baden-Baden.

The cities of Munich, Berlin, and Cologne in the Rhine-Ruhr region are competing to represent Germany as a candidate city to host the “Olympic Games” in the years 2036, 2040, or 2044, provided that the General Assembly of the “Union” also determines the year in which Germany will submit its bid.

Berlin hosted the “Olympics” in 1936, while Munich hosted the “Olympics” in 1972. Since that time, several German attempts to host the “Games” have failed, or were stopped due to the results of popular referendums.

Munich and Cologne and the Rhine-Ruhr region received significant support in popular referendums related to their latest attempts to host the “Games,” while the city of Hamburg withdrew from the race after its residents stopped its efforts through a referendum.

A referendum was not held in Berlin, as the local parliament voted in favor of the candidacy file.

The results of the referendums represent one of the criteria that the German Olympic Sports Federation relies on as part of a comprehensive evaluation process for the three cities, before the decisive vote is held.

German club Borussia Dortmund announced that midfielder Konstantinos Karitsas (18 years old) has returned to training nearly a week after he collapsed due to a worrying health problem during his first appearance in the Champions League.

Karitsas had passed the ball to one of his teammates and then indicated to the referee that he had a problem, before sitting on the grass during the match in which Dortmund beat Villarreal 3-2 on September 8.

The player was seen shedding tears while being transported due to suspected circulatory problems. He was taken to the hospital and remained there for most of last week.

Dortmund said: “Konstantinos Karitsas returned to team training as of today, Wednesday, after undergoing individual training sessions at the beginning of the week. This was his first group training session with his teammates since he left the field due to circulatory problems during the match against Villarreal.

Dortmund did not specify the nature of the medical diagnosis for Karitsas' condition, who joined the team from Genk for an amount estimated at $34.6 million last month, nor did the club clarify whether the player would be able to participate in Saturday's match against Stuttgart in the German League.

The International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday that it is confident that the change in the leadership of the organizing committee for the 2030 Winter Games scheduled in the French Alps will not affect preparations, stressing that work is proceeding according to plan despite the tight deadline.

Vincent Roberti was appointed interim president of the organizing committee for the 2030 Games on Monday, following the departure of Edgar Grosperon, in the latest episode of turmoil in the preparations for the Games.

Grosperon, the 1992 Olympic freestyle skiing champion, resigned after only 18 months in charge amid disagreements over the organization and governance of the Games.

His departure followed the resignation of former Director General Cyril Linnet, who stepped down from his position earlier this year due to what he described as “irreconcilable differences.”

Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Veujean, head of the International Olympic Committee's coordination committee for the 2030 Olympics, said work was progressing as planned despite Grosperon's departure.

He said in a press conference: “With this appointment, work can continue.” It is a sign of the trust placed in Vincent Roberti by stakeholders. We saw a project that continues to develop and grow. We know that there is much more to be accomplished, but the project is well established. The decision taken provides stability and continuity.”

The French Alpine Olympics project faced several challenges, including the decision in May to move the snow sports events from Nice to Lyon.

Nice was originally intended to become the southern center of "ice sports", but the newly elected mayor, Eric Ciotti, refused to allow the Allianz Riviera Stadium, home of the Nice Football Club, to be used as a temporary ice rink for men's hockey competitions.