Education secretary to go to Copenhagen for city's Olympic bid

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will travel to Copenhagen next week to help lobby for his hometown's bid to win the 2016 Summer Games, the White House said.

The International Olympic Committee on Oct. 2 will select the host for the games from among Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.

Before being selected as education secretary, Duncan was the Chicago Public Schools chief. He grew up on Chicago's South Side near where many of the Olympic venues are planned.

A former co-captain of Harvard's basketball team, Duncan failed in a tryout with the Boston Celtics before heading to Australia, where he played pro ball for four years.

Duncan will join the U.S. delegation led by first lady Michelle Obama.

On Sept. 23, the Chicago 2016 bid committee said television host Oprah Winfrey would travel to Copenhagen to support the effort.