"We'll catch our breath first, but a lot of people ask questions like that," Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay said when asked on Sunday about the 2016 Olympics.
"We'll do a review (of the world championships), we'll think about it and we'll answer that question when the times comes.
"I don't exclude anything. On the contrary, watch the last thing I say at the closing ceremony and you'll see the answer to your question is in the affirmative."
If Montreal won the 2016 Games, it would mark the 40th anniversary of the city hosting the 1976 Olympics, an event that ran up an enormous deficit that won't be paid off until 2006.
Only five cities have ever hosted the Olympics twice: Athens (1986 and 2004), London (1908 and 1948), Stockholm (1912 and 1956), Paris (1900 and 1924) and Los Angeles (1932 and 1984).
Athletes competing at the world aquatic championships seem to support the idea of Montreal hosting the 2016 Games.
"From our experience, coming into Montreal and competing at this venue has been just unreal," said swimmer Rick Say. "Having the Olympics here in the future gets kids excited about sport and I think it's a great commitment by the city of Montreal to sport and its development."
"Having the home crowd here and all the support has really made a difference for us," added swimmer Brittany Reimer. "It's awesome for us."
World aquatic success
The multi-sport world aquatic championships ended on Sunday with Canada capturing 10 medals, the best performance ever since 1978 when the country's athletes won nine.
Canada ended the two-week event with five swimming medals (four silver, one bronze) and four diving medals (three gold, one bronze) to go with a bronze in women's water polo.
All in all, the 15-day event featuring 1,784 athletes from around the world won praise and plaudits, even though organizers announced that 160,000 tickets were sold (they were shooting for 200,000) and that they expect to run at a $4 million deficit.
"I think Montreal and Canada can be proud of what they have accomplished at this event," said Mustapha Larfaoui, president of FINA, the world governing body for aquatic sports.
Mayor Tremblay downplayed the deficit, explaining it represents less than one percent of Montreal's annual budget and that the city can pay it off with funds it sets aside for special events.
Even though the stands were not always full, the competition brought worldwide exposure to the city and unlike the 1976 Montreal Olympics in Montreal, "the taxpayers won't have to pay additional taxes," said Tremblay.
with files from Canadian Press
