LONDON, England (AFP) — The spectacular success of British athletes at the London Games has only strengthened US officials’ desire to bring the Olympics back to the United States.

The US Olympic Committee announced in July they wouldn’t bid for the 2022 Winter Games, but USOC chairman Larry Probst and chief executive Scott Blackmun confirmed yesterday that officials were actively exploring options for launching a bid for either the 2024 or 2026 Games.

“I think we see everytime — we saw it in Beijing and we see it here — being the home team always gives athletes a lift,” Blackmun said, predicting that Brazil would benefit from the same effect in four years’ time in Rio.

“We expect Brazil to have quite a few athletes rise to the podium, quite a few athletes have lifetime bests, that’s one of the reasons we’d certainly like to host the Games back in the States someday in the not too distant future.”

USOC chairman Larry Probst said a great deal of work remained before a bid could be launched, saying it was not just a matter of choosing a city but of formulating “what the message is” in terms of a Games legacy.

Technical and infrastructure plans must be mapped out and even a decision on which Games to bid for has yet to be made.

Even so, there’s no doubt the USOC wants the games Stateside again.

“We think the Games need to come back to America,” Probst said.

It has been 10 years since the Olympics have been held on US soil. The Americans last hosted the Winter Olympics in 2002 in Salt Lake City and the Summer Games in 1996 in Atlanta.

Their last two attempts to land Olympics ended badly. The US put in a bid for New York to host the 2012 Games but lost out to London. Chicago finished last in an attempt to land the 2016 Summer Games, which went to Brazil.

The 2014 Winter Games will be held in Sochi, Russia, and four years later they are scheduled for Pyeongchang, South Korea. The candidates for the 2020 Summer Olympics are Istanbul, Tokyo and Madrid.