Incentivised: Malysia's Wei Chong Lee could walk away with about £400,000 plus a gold bar worth some £380,000 if he wins the Olympic badminton |
Team GB athletes who win gold at this year's home Olympics will be immortalised in the national memory. But for competitors from some other nations, prestige isn't the only thing driving them on. Virtually all the world's national Olympic committees will be offering cash rewards to athletes who take gold in theirdisciplines. Except Britain, which maintains that victory is its own reward. A gold medalist from Malaysia will walk away with about £400,000, for example. But if they emerge triumphant from badminton, the country's strongest sport, they will receive an additional lump of gold - literally - worth some £380,000, The Sunday Times reports. A gold medallist from Russia's remote Chelyabinsk region, meanwhile, will walk away with a £600,000 reward. For Team GB stars the rewards are far less tangible. From the moment any take gold, the Royal Mail will begin designing a stamp bearing their image and deliver them to 500 post offices for sale the following day. The champions' stamps will be available in books of six for £3.60 or individually for 60p - to be immortalised forever among philatelists. UK athletes could be forgiven then for looking enviously at the incentives on offer to their international rivals. The Indian government will be offering coaching jobs to its athletes who win medals, the country's sports minister Ajay Maken has announced. Of the nations that finished in the top 10 of total medal hauls at Beijing four years ago, Italy is the most generous to its stars. It offers £116,000 for a gold. The basic payment on offer to Russian athletes is £85,000, but that can hiked up significantly by regional bonuses. The US will pay a not to be sniffed at £15,000 to a gold medallist, while Austria and Germany will pay just under £13,000. Still, with fat sponsorship deals on offer and the prospect of punditry work with broadcasters at future Games and related events, Team GB stars are unlikely to go hungry in years to come. (Read by Rosie Tuck. Rosie Tuck is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
在本次主場奧運(yùn)會(huì)中獲得金牌的英國運(yùn)動(dòng)員無疑將在英國名垂青史,但對一些其他國家的運(yùn)動(dòng)員來說,催他們奮進(jìn)的動(dòng)力可不僅僅是參加奧運(yùn)所能獲得的榮譽(yù)和地位。 實(shí)際上,世界上所有國家的奧委會(huì)都會(huì)給予那些在各自項(xiàng)目獲得金牌的選手現(xiàn)金獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)。 除了依然認(rèn)為勝利本身就是獎(jiǎng)賞的英國。 據(jù)《星期日泰晤士報(bào)》報(bào)道,一位馬來西亞金牌獲得者可以領(lǐng)取40萬英鎊的獎(jiǎng)金,而如果他們在本國最強(qiáng)的項(xiàng)目羽毛球上獲得金牌,除了40萬英鎊獎(jiǎng)金,他們還將獲得一塊價(jià)值38萬英鎊的金條。 一位來自俄羅斯偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)車?yán)镅刨e斯克地區(qū)的選手如果獲得金牌,將得到高達(dá)60萬英鎊的獎(jiǎng)金。 然而英國隊(duì)的明星們獲得的獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)相比之下則抽象得多。一旦有英國運(yùn)動(dòng)員拿了金牌,英國皇家郵政就會(huì)即刻開始設(shè)計(jì)一款印有該運(yùn)動(dòng)員頭像的郵票,并在第二天發(fā)送至全國500家郵局對外發(fā)售。 印有冠軍頭像的郵票將會(huì)以每套6張,3.6英鎊的價(jià)格或單張60便士的價(jià)格發(fā)售——在集郵者的世界中永垂不朽。 因此,英國運(yùn)動(dòng)員們?nèi)绻麑ζ鋰飧偁帉κ值莫?jiǎng)金面露妒色是可以原諒的。 印度體育部長阿賈?梅肯已經(jīng)宣布,印度政府將為獲得獎(jiǎng)牌的運(yùn)動(dòng)員提供教練工作。 在四年前北京奧運(yùn)會(huì)獎(jiǎng)牌榜前十名的國家中,意大利是最慷慨的國家,其獲得金牌的運(yùn)動(dòng)員可以得到11.6萬英鎊的獎(jiǎng)金。 俄羅斯選手獲得金牌的最低獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)是8.5萬英鎊,但加上地方獎(jiǎng)金,數(shù)額也相當(dāng)可觀。美國付給金牌運(yùn)動(dòng)員的獎(jiǎng)金是1.5萬英鎊,還能讓人勉強(qiáng)接受,而奧地利和德國的獎(jiǎng)金只有不到1.3萬英鎊。 不過,豐厚的贊助費(fèi)用和與廣播員一同在未來奧運(yùn)會(huì)及相關(guān)賽事的權(quán)威解說工作使得英國的獎(jiǎng)牌獲得者們在未來數(shù)年里還不至于挨餓。 相關(guān)閱讀 埃及奧委會(huì)為運(yùn)動(dòng)員提供“山寨”訓(xùn)練服 倫敦奧運(yùn)村發(fā)15萬只避孕套創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄 德國人譏笑倫敦奧運(yùn)會(huì)變“奧運(yùn)災(zāi)難” 倫敦出租車司機(jī)集會(huì)示威 抗議奧運(yùn)交通管制 倫敦奧運(yùn)門票銷售出錯(cuò) 花樣游泳多售出1萬張 (中國日報(bào)網(wǎng)英語點(diǎn)津 陳丹妮 編輯:Julie) |
Vocabulary: GB: Great Britain immortalise: 使不朽 prestige: 名望,聲望 discipline: 項(xiàng)目 philatelist: 集郵家 incentive: 獎(jiǎng)勵(lì),獎(jiǎng)金 punditry: 權(quán)威之意見,言行等;權(quán)威人士 |