The executive board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced today that Chicago is one of four finalists to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. The city’s three remaining competitors are Madrid (Spain), Tokyo (Japan), and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).

The most recent evaluation report put Chicago third behind Madrid and Tokyo. But early rankings don’t necessarily mean much; London was originally ranked third behind Paris and Madrid for the 2012 Olympics before going on to win the bid in 2005.

“I feel relieved, exhilarated and very much honored,” Chicago bid leader Patrick Ryan said, according to the Associated Press. “We are going to study the report and we’re going to learn from that and correct all the deficiencies.”

Six U.S. cities have hosted the Olympics eight times. (Los Angeles and Lake Placid have each hosted twice.) Chicago was supposed to host in 1904 but the Games were relocated to St. Louis to coincide with the St. Louis World’s Fair. The first International Special Olympics Games were hosted in Chicago in 1968.

Tokyo hosted the Games in 1964, and Madrid placed third in the bid for the 2012 Olympics. Rio would be the first South American city to host the Olympics.

The finalist cities will now compete in a 16-month race; after the final four submit detailed bid files to the IOC by Feb. 12, 2009, a panel of IOC experts will visit each of the cities. The panel will release an evaluation report and the full IOC will vote by secret ballot on October 2, 2009.

According to the Chicago 2016 Web site, a special event is planned for Friday, June 6, at 11:30 AM in Daley Plaza to celebrate the selection of Chicago as a finalist.