Gov‘t to increase support for athletes
By Kang Seung-woo
The government said Thursday that it will provide intensive support for 11 events the nation is likely to be a medal contender in at the London Olympics to help Korea make the top 10.
In addition, it has raised the prize money for medalists.
As part of backing Team Korea’s bid to post a top 10 finish in the medal standings, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism picked 11 events where Korean athletes are favored to claim gold.
They are archery, badminton, judo, taekwondo, shooting, swimming, weightlifting, fencing, wrestling, boxing and gymnastics.
According to the ministry, athletes from the selected events will be able to train overseas up to four times ahead of the Games, helped by government aid.
In addition, four events including gymnastics have brought in foreign coaches to boost medal hopes.
The ministry said that the government has increased the level of prize money for medalists to match the rewards given to those at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
According to the new prize money system, a gold medalist at the London Olympics will be awarded 60 million won, 10 million more than in Beijing, while those who win silver and bronze will receive 30 million won and 18 million won, respectively, up 5 million and 3 million won from four years ago.
It also said that a training camp will be set up at Brunel University in London from July 20 to Aug. 13. The 1.2 billion-won facility, the first time such a site has been available in the nation’s Olympic history, is expected to solve the lack of training time that has bothered Korean athletes who practiced at the organizer-designated facilities, while helping them to adjust to the time difference and environment in the United Kingdom.
“The London Olympics in 1948 was the first Summer Games for Korea to participate in under the Korean flag after liberation in 1945, and we will take part in the Olympics to be held in the same place 64 years later,” Culture Minister Choe Kwang-shik told reporters in a briefing.
“Since then, Korea has stepped up as one of the world’s sports powerhouse and we will try to use the London Olympics as a stepping stone for Korean sports to evolve into the upper tiers.”
Korea finished ninth in the standings after earning nine golds, 12 silvers and nine bronze medals in Athens in 2004, while standing seventh on the back of 13 golds, 10 silvers and eight bronze medals in Beijing four years later.