In a stunning upset, Chicago was ousted in the first round of voting to host the 2016 Olympics.

Chicago received the fewest number of votes in the first round, despite its star-studded last-minute pitch.
Tokyo was voted out soon after.

The decision caps a competition among four cities — Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo — to host the Games.

Chicago had several well-known lobbyists in Copenhagen. Foremost among them was President Barack Obama, who arrived Friday morning after an overnight flight.

The U.S., Obama told Olympic leaders, "is ready and eager to assume that sacred trust" of hosting the Games.

The president and his wife, fellow Chicagoan Michelle Obama, put their capital behind an enormous campaign to win the Olympics bid. Never before had a U.S. president made such an in-person appeal.

"I urge you to choose Chicago," Obama told members of the International Olympic Committee.

"And if you do — if we walk this path together — then I promise you this: The city of Chicago and the United States of America will make the world proud," the president said.

The four finalist cities have been making their cases to the IOC for more than a year, but many IOC members were believed to be undecided about which city they would vote for Friday. Some said they might not decide until after the cities made their final presentations in Copenhagen.

Michelle Obama, who grew up on Chicago's South Side, had two days of one-on-one meetings with IOC members, whom she assured of Chicago's sincerity to use the Olympics as inspiration for children who might not otherwise have reason to dream big.

One of the IOC members she chatted with on Thursday was former Russian swimming great Alexander Popov. After getting his picture taken with Mrs. Obama, Popov was ushered off to meet with talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.

Winfrey, who ranks second only to Angelina Jolie on Forbes' Celebrity 100 list, drew lots of attention at the IOC hotel, shaking hands and posing for photos. As she made her way into the restaurant, she chatted up IOC executive board member Gerhard Heiberg and Sam Ramsamy, an IOC member from South Africa.

"Whoever's there, I'll talk to them," Winfrey said.

The bidding process to host the Games began in May 2007. The four finalist cities were named in June 2008. Not making the final cut were Baku, Azerbaijan; Doha, Qatar; and Prague, Czech Republic.

The most recent Summer Olympics to be held in the United States were the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

The 2012 Games are scheduled for London.

Source: FOX Sports