Tuesday, March 10, 2009

USA Track to Pay for Performance

After USA Track & Field laid an egg at the Beijing Games this past summer winning only seven gold medals, Doug Logan, the organization's CEO, has a plan to bring glory back to the team: pay for performance.

Logan recommended paying a $15,000 bonus to those who achieved personal bests (PR) at the Games and a $5,000 bonus to those for a PR during the season. If those athletes win medals at the Games, those payments are assumed to be in addition to awards the United States Olympic Committee already hands out: $25,000 to gold-medal winners, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze.

Will this new financial incentive lead to more doping in track & field? Probably. This new financial incentive for optimal performance has increased the temptation to dope and collect a possible $40,000 payment. Athletes may be swayed to load up on PED's. Previous World Fastest Men have come under scrutiny and Marion Jones has admitted to being a fraud...in chasing the all mighty dollar.

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