FINANCES AND CONTROVERSIES

INDEX: 1-LINKS 2- FIRST YEARS OF THE MODERN OLYMPICS. 3- FROM KIDS. 4- DROGS, UNHEALTHY FOR ATHLETES, BAD FOR COMPETITION. 5- BUDGET. 6- TICKETS.

1-LINKS: Going for Gold (Anthony Teasdale) Burlingtons Books.

2-FIRST YEARS OF THE MODERN OLYMPICS.

The competing athletes were usually rich, because they could afford to spend the time and money necessary for trainning as amateur athletes. But it wasn´t fair as it excluded many talented working-class athletes. These athletes believed they should also have a chance to compete and they wanted the opportunity to participate. In the year 1980 the Games were opened to all.

3- FROM KIDS.

Training and financing of athletes around the world differs from place to place. China pays all training costs for its Olympics hopefuls and gives the athletes salaries. Many people call child abuse the intense training and often cruel treatment. Like many Chinese Olympic champions, gymnast Xing Aowei began training at 5 years of age and he joined the Shandong provincial team at eight. At 12, he joined the Chinese national team and his intensive training continued for four more yeras. He entered international competition, competing in the asian games of At 18, Xing and his teammates won the men´s team gold medal at the Sydney Olympics.

4-DRUGS: UNHEALTHY FOR ATHLETES, BAD FOR COMPETITION.

Some athletes take drugs to make their performance better, even though this is against Olympic committee rules. In some cases, goverments even pressure their athletes to take these drugs. From 1968s to the late 1980s, the government of East Germany gave steroids to young Olympic hopefuls without the Olympic committee knowing. Many people suspected drug use when the East German women swimmers won 11 of the 13 swimming medals at the 1976 Olympics. The East Germans drugged 100,000 Olympic athletes from as young as 13 years old. These steroids made young athletes very ill

5-BUDGET.

The approximate budget of the Olympics Games is about millon of Pounds. An example: The Aquiatic Centre was desinged by the famous architect Zaha Hadid. These installations cost 262 millon of Pounds.

6-TICKETS.

The distribution of tickets is made by lot. Eight million of Pounds are sold for fans. Ticketing is available from the 15th of March until the 26th of April. You can select the number of tickets you want to buy and the ceremonies you want to attend. The cheapest tickets cost about 20 Pounds. The most expensive tickets cost around 2,000 Pounds.

Some examples: SWIMMING: The expensive tests cost 450 Pounds, however the cheapest are about 20. RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS: All the viewers watch the same exhibition, but the difference is the seat qualit y. Marathon races, road cycling and triathlon are free for viewers.