U.S. Olympians to visit Boston for Road to Rio Tour

BOSTON (AP) — More than two months after Boston's bid for the 2024 Olympics collapsed under the weight of fierce public opposition, the United States Olympic Committee is returning to the city with a much different goal in mind.

The organization is sending several athletes and former Olympians to Boston this weekend as part of its Road to Rio Tour, an effort to drum up support and enthusiasm for Team USA as the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro draw closer. The visit coincides with the Head of the Charles Regatta, one of the world's premier rowing events.

USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky says the stop was planned well before the USOC dropped Boston as the U.S. bid city for the 2024 Olympic Games, and isn't meant as a fence-mending attempt.