A large crowd had gathered from early morning in front of the city hall under cloudy skies in the alpine city to watch the much anticipated announcement from Guatemala on a big-screen television.

But when International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi would host the games, the crowd reacted with stunned silence.

One or two people threw flags, emblazoned with "Pyeongchang 2014," onto the ground.

"It's worse than four years ago, because this time we really thought we would win," said local restaurant owner Son Chang-min.

With the Austrian city of Salzburg eliminated in the first round, it was a duel between Pyeongchang and Sochi in the IOC's vote Wednesday in Guatemala City. Sochi finished with 51 votes to Pyeongchang's 47.

Pyeongchang, located 110 miles northeast of Seoul, led the first round with 36 votes, followed by Sochi with 34 and Salzburg with 25. Sochi picked up 17 votes in the second round to secure the victory.

Virtually the same thing happened four years ago, when Pyeongchang won the initial vote but came up short at the end to Vancouver. Salzburg, which also bid for 2010, was eliminated in the first round.

Despite the disappointment, some in Pyeongchang were not ready to give up.

"I feel proud, because we did all that we could do," said housewife Song Ji-won. "We should try again, because how can they say no three times."

Pyeongchang's 2014 bid received a positive report from the IOC's evaluation commission in early June.

The committee listed no significant weaknesses and highlighted the compactness of the venues — all 11 planned venues are within 30 minutes of each other. Four already are built, while construction on three others has started.

Home to 46,000 people, Pyeongchang is part of Gangwon Province, the only province to be split into two upon the division of the Korean peninsula after World War II. The North Korean Olympic Committee already had promised full cooperation if Pyeongchang won.