Beijing Olympics
 

The Rio Games, the first Olympics in South America, have closed, and the next three venues will be in Asia. Here's a closer look at Pyeongchang, Tokyo and Beijing -- and beyond:

2018 Winter Olympics: Pyeongchang, South Korea

Pyeongchang, South Korea

This will be South Korea's second Olympics. It hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. "Second" is a quite fitting theme for Pyeongchang. The city was runner-up in the IOC's voting to host the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, losing by three votes to Vancouver and four votes to Sochi. But for 2018, Pyeongchang crushed Munich 63-25 in the final round of the voting. The Alpensia Resort will host a bulk of the events, while the Gangnueng Hockey Centre is expected to finish construction in November 2016. South Korea will hope it will enjoy a similar surge in success as host as it did in 1988. South Korea finished fourth in total medals in Seoul, and that is still its highest place in either Summer or Winter competition. The Pyeongchang Games will take place from February 9 to February 25.

2020: Tokyo

Tokyo Tower Olympics Sign

This will be Japan's fourth Olympics. Tokyo was home for the 1964 Summer Games while Sapporo (1972) and Nagano (1998) hosted Winter Games. Tokyo will become one of five cities to have hosted multiple Summer Games, joining Paris, Los Angeles, Athens and three-time host London. Tokyo beat Istanbul and Madrid comfortably for the right to host, outscoring Istanbul 60-36 in the final round of the IOC's election in 2013. The most notable venue of the Games will be Tokyo's National Olympic Stadium, which is receiving a $1.3 billion upgrade and will also host the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Japanese fans will hope that the renovated stadium will be put to use by its women's soccer team, which won the 2011 World Cup and placed second at the 2012 Olympics and 2015 World Cup but was stunned by China in 2016 Olympic qualifying to miss the Rio Games. Another sport in which the host nation could flex its muscles is baseball, which will return to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years. Japan medaled in three of the five Olympic baseball tournaments from 1992 to 2008. The Tokyo Games will take place from July 24 to August 9.

2022: Beijing

Beijing Olympic Venues

Again? Yes, just 14 years after Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics, the city will be back at it in the 2022 Winter Games. This will mark the quickest Olympic turnaround for a single city since Innsbruck, Austria, hosted the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics – and that only happened because Denver controversially withdrew from hosting the 1976 Games. Additionally, 2022 will see Beijing become the first city to ever host both a Summer and Winter Olympics. China edged fellow Asian city Almaty, Kazakhstan, 44-40 in the final round of voting in 2015. Many of the same venues that wowed the world in 2008 will again be used, including the Beijing National Stadium (hosting the Opening and Closing Ceremonies) and Beijing National Indoor Stadium (being renovated for ice hockey). Chinese athletes certainly hope that Beijing's magic pays off again – in 2008, the hosts earned a world-leading 51 gold medals, still the only time a nation besides the United States has earned that distinction in a Summer Olympics since the demise of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. The 2022 Beijing Games will take place from February 4 to February 20.

2024: Budapest, Rome, Paris Or Los Angeles

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Los Angeles was a late entry in this race. The USOC initially selected Boston to be the candidate, but the city dropped its bid in the summer of 2015 because of financial concerns. But just because L.A. was the last nominee to join the party doesn't mean it should be considered an underdog. Its official website has a ridiculously stacked Athletes Commission including Magic Johnson, Kerri Walsh Jennings, Katie Ledecky, Allyson Felix, Michael Johnson, Carl Lewis, Venus Williams, Chris Paul, Michael Phelps, Alex Morgan and many more. Mayor Eric Garcetti and the committee reportedly made a strong initial pitch to IOC executives during the Rio Games. Another possible edge for L.A. is timing and geography: The Summer Olympics haven't been held in North America since 1996 in Atlanta. The IOC will announce the winner in September 2017.

2026: No Finalists Yet.

Salt Lake City Olympic Stadium

The final decision on the host of 2026 Winter Games will be made in 2019. Cities interested in hosting must submit a formal bid by September 2017. Salt Lake City, which hosted the most recent Winter Olympics in the U.S. in 2002, is making noise about another run. If Los Angeles does ultimately fail to secure the 2024 bid, it will have been 24 years since the USA hosted either form of Olympics. The Washington Times reported that this time span should be large enough to play out in Salt Lake City's favor. The Austrian city of Innsbruck could be in contention to become the first to host three Winter Olympics, as local newspaper Tiroler Tageszeitung wrote earlier this year that the IOC had reached out to gauge Innsbruck's interest. Previous hosts Calgary (1988) and Sapporo (1972) also have been rumored to be interested.

* Bonus Fact: The last continent to host three consecutive Olympics was Europe: Albertville and Barcelona in 1992, the last year that the Winter and Summer Games were held in the same year, and Lillehammer in 1994.

More Olympics:
-- Michael Phelps Teaches Katie Ledecky Proper Medal-Wearing Technique
-- Olympians In The NFL
-- Diving At Finish Line Isn't Just Legal, It's Smart