Should countries pay athletes for gold medals?

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Proverb: ‘Once archer is shooting for gold, his hands start to shake.’

TURIN, Italy - The United States hands out $25,000, France offers 40,000 euros (about $47,750 U.S. dollars) and Russia claims it pays the most.

The price of an Olympic gold medal keeps going up.

But for some countries, the debate over whether to offer money for medals has yet to get under way in earnest.

“It’s not all off the table but it’s not gone through a true discussion,” Canada’s chief technical officer and head coach, Alex Gardiner, told a news conference.

“As a coach I’ve never thought in these terms. The world is doing it, more people are becoming professionals ... and there’s got to be some incentive. But sometimes passion is compromised by dollars,” he said, offering the following Chinese expression for support:

“Once the archer is shooting for gold, his hands start to shake.”

Finland offers 20,000 euros, just under $25,000, for an individual gold and 5,000 euros (about $6,000) for a team gold. China, among others, also offers a sliding scale of cash incentives.

But Canada is one of a few countries, like Britain, which has resisted the trend. And the athletes do not seem to mind.

“We didn’t dream of the cash value it comes with. We didn’t wake up in the morning thinking about the dollars this medal could turn into, we were just thinking about the medal,” said Jeffrey Buttle, who won bronze in the men’s figure skating.

“We want to be the best in the sport, not the richest in the sport ... I’m pretty pleased with just a medal.”

Britain’s curling skip David Murdoch said, laughing: “I don’t care about any money, I’d be quite happy with a gold.”

Russian Sports Minister Vyacheslav Fetisov disagreed.

“We probably have the biggest collection of medals of any country in the world,” Fetisov told a news conference.

“And the rewards for medal winners -- we are offering amounts which far exceed those offered by by other countries.” He did not give amounts.

Canada’s former Olympic diver Sylvie Bernier said she expected Canada to start offering prize money by the next Games.

“I remember in 1984 the Chinese were doing it. So many years later I still believe that passion is the bottom line,” she said. “Possibly by the next Games we might have to do it if every country is doing it.”

Reuters Limited