Witt cites German sponsors as key to Munich bid

LONDON (AP) — The financial clout of German sponsors should be a key factor in favor of Munich's bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics, Katarina Witt said Tuesday.

Witt, the two-time figure skating gold medalist who chairs the Munich bid, said companies including BMW and Audi pay a total of €2.6 billion ($3.7 billion) per year in sports sponsorship in Germany.

Half of the sponsorship revenues of the seven Olympic international winter sports federations comes from German companies, she said.

"This shows how much German companies are behind winter sports," Witt said at a media briefing during the SportAccord convention.

Germany's leading role in sports sponsorship is …