Canadian athletes to be paid for Olympic medals

I was so glad to read this in today's paper!! I think Canada is long overdue in properly honouring and supporting our athletes (which is why so often we lose them to other nations, most notably the United States). This is a great great step forward.

Nov 19, 2007 09:12 AM THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA – For the first time, Canada's athletes will be paid for winning medals at Olympic games.

Athletes will receive up to $20,000 per medal at the Games.

The Canadian Olympic Committee says the athlete support and reward program is a way to compensate high-performance athletes for the financial burdens they often face while training for Olympic Games.

The committee says gold medals will garner the higher amount, while silver medal winners will be paid $15,000 and bronze medal winners $10,000.
The performance awards will apply to all Olympic sports, and will be the same whether athletes are in a team or individual sport.

The first athletes to qualify for the awards will compete in Beijing next year.