Buying Athletes/Swimmers?

Patrick: I thought he was an American, but had dual citzenship and choose to swim for them. I know he grew up and went to HS over here and I don't think has ever lived in Serbia-Montenegro. Anyway I think that Qater is going to go to that part of the world and offer major bucks that those nations can't afford to fund for swimmers. It seems from all of the news reports that the male sprinters are the ones they are after with the recruitments of Schoeman, Neethling, and Draganja.

That would be an interesting relay, wouldn't it Patrick? But I did notice that all the reports were about sprint freestylers, which makes it more intriguing. I sincerely hope that this fires up the USA to, in the paraphrased words of John Smith, "bring the relay back." With for guys that can go in the 48.1-48.9 range, that's one heck of a relay. But the US needs to be pumped and ready to take on the challengers. Because there are now two in that relay (S. Africa and Qatar), if everything goes Qatar's way. It's funny that no one's trying to challenge in the other relays. Heck, that 800 free relay is still up for grabs. Why hasn't Britain tried to get three more swimmers to match Simon Burnett? Maybe they're more tactful than that.

I still stand by my statement that no nation has more future potential talent over the USA in the 400 Free Relay. If you look at the current FINA World Rankings, the USA has more swimmers than any nation ranked in the top ten. Last year with the 3:13.77, which broke the American Record and was only .60 off the World Record. South Africa didn't even field a team when they could have. With 3/4 of the relay swimming in Montreal and a replacement for Lyndon Ferns they didn't even try. Read the story at www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/9443.asp That guy, Karl Thaning that did a :49.25 split in Athens could have swam and challenged the USA. Freddy Bousquet, as good as he was at the NCAA has not medaled in either the 50 or the 100 Free at either 2004 Athens or 2005 Montreal. In fact he didn't even final in the 100 in Montreal and Lezak and Phelps did. He did get a 7th in the 50 with a :22.44 however. So all of the training he is doing over here has not paid off in International competition. Could someone please tell me who has more potential than the USA? Italy would look like judging from the rankings but they did not even place in the 400 Free Relay.

Frank, I'm not so sure. The bigger issue here is what stand the Olympic committee will take (if any), or if it can take fr countries who start "buying" athletes to compete in this event. What's to stop Qatar from "recruiting" Brunelli? The lines between Pro and amateur sports have long since blurred, but as far as I know the Olympics continue to be competition between countries.......like some said earlier on here, if not then what anthem should the be playing at the awards ceremony? My own two cents.......if your going to represent a country in THIS event then you need to be a citizen of that country.

I doubt Cavic would sign up with Qatar, he's a Serb. Remember what Duje (Roman Catholic Croat) said about "not giving up his religion". Spoken like a true Balkan!

Frank: Yes Michael grew up in California and does have dual-citizenship, yet ethnically he is a Serb. My point is, I doubt you will ever see an athlete from an Orthodox heritage (Serb, Russian, Greek) swim for an Arab country no matter what the financial incentive is.

Qatar relay: Manoc (SVK) is a possibilty--Salim Iles from Algeria would be a good fit, Rafed El-Masri of Syria has had some good 50s --talk about nation building. I agree Jeff--the British are a puzzle, they need facilities like the Germans and French to attract the youth.

Qatar snapshot Area: slightly smaller than Connecticut, Population: 863,051 (July 2005 est.), Land: mostly flat and barren desert covered with loose sand and gravel, Ethnically: Arab 40%, Pakistani 18%, Indian 18%, Iranian 10%, other 14% (60% guest workers?), Religion: Muslim 95%, Language: Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language, Government: traditional monarchy, discretionary system of law controlled by the amir, although civil codes are being implemented; Islamic law dominates family and personal matters. Business: Oil and gas account for more than 55% of GDP, roughly 85% of export earnings, and 70% of government revenues. Oil and gas have given Qatar a per capita GDP about 80% of that of the leading West European industrial countries. Proved oil reserves of 16 billion barrels should ensure continued output at current levels for 23 years. Oil production: 790,000 bbl/day (2004 est.). Military: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; Land Force's enlisted personnel are largely nonprofessional foreign nationals (2005). OK let’s see: 60% of the population is guest workers, the military is primarily a non-native force, and now they want to buy athletes to produce Olympic medals. Makes sense.

Going back to the origins of the Olympics, we would take away this stuff by not competing by country. In fact, we could be really traditional and hold the events in the nude. Think of the ratings!

Paul, LinsayNB: Its my understanding that the IOC has allowed athletes to have dual citizenship and to declare to choose which nation they which to represent in the Olympics. People like Martin Zubero and Markus Rogan come to mind who have done that in the past. If the country allows dual citizenship then its ok. I am sure Qater will allow it and it can be negotiated in the financial contract. I am not sure if Duje Draganja is a complete citizen of Qater or a dual citizen of both Qater and Croatia and I didn't see anything in the press about it. Swimmers have been able to change Nationalities for years but now its been more frequently. About the only person I know who has done that here in the USA is USMS own Ron Karnaagh, who was on the US Olympic team in 1992 and now has dual citizenship with Poland and represents them. I didn't hear or read anything that he did it for major bucks. So I don't think yet there has been anybody thats gone for a major financial package. The IOC will do nothing to stop this because a precedent was set in the sport of track when Kenya's Stephen Cherono, the World Record holder in the 3000 meter steeplechase was allowed and approved to change his allegiance and compete for Qater. He also changed his name to Said Saaeef Shaheen. He now receives a lifetime salary of $1000 per month. With this done successfully in track, Qater is moving into swimming. Qater knows that great swimmers come with a price tag and they will offer Phelps/Beard like cash to lure the best. In fact, Rolland Schoeman got the Qater offer in an e-mail message and he said it came out of the blue. He was shocked and tempted to take it because it was a lot of money and it was guaranteed. As part of the lure, both Schoeman and Neethling and several others were invited to Qater as a training trip to see the country and swim in the best facilities with other elite athletes. They didn't go. The FINA rule is the 1 year residency regulation. But it can be waived if officials from both countries agree to drop it. So big money will be allowed to be thrown around to attract the best swimmers. Because swimming is now a professional sport, a swimmer will be allowed to follow the money just like they do in another sports like international baseball players, NBA players, etc. Why should Olympic athletes be denied the same choice? Apparently the IOC sees that its ok and line with what professional leagues are doing with free agency. With this allowing to happen, it would render competition between countries meaningless and Nationalism would not exist in the true sense of the word at the Olympics. Corporate sponsorship of the games which has become overly commericalized would then have rich nations like Qater in the Olympic picture that would not have been there in the first place providing major funds for athletes as a second source of income. I am sure that the IOC and the major sports federations will get some kind of financial incentives out of this so everyone leaves the table rich and happy.