Wrestling Blogs - Joe Williamson

Glory Is Nice,

So Is Cold Hard Cash

I am sure that the feeling of winning a national, world, or Olympic title can go unmatched. Even being a witness to it gives me the chills. I am willing to bet that some people believe it to be the best feeling of their life. Think about it, if one dedicates most of their time, energy, life to a single thing, the thought of being the best would be sweet. What if that feeling was paired with a giant bankroll of cash, a flat (similar to an apartment), and a steady salary for years to come. It may be even sweeter.

While I was in Russia, Tigran (our friend that did the finals preview) informed me about some interesting incentives that stare the wrestlers of Russia in the face. Since this is an Olympic year, incentives are even greater. Wrestlers in Russia, even juniors, are rewarded by the government for wrestling success. Most of the time this comes in the form of a monthly salary. This makes it easier for wrestlers to focus on wrestling rather than balancing wrestling, school, and work.

Now lets skip to the athletes who are going to the Olympics. They are already compensated for winning a national title. If by chance they come home with an Olympic gold, the government pays them $100,000 and a free flat. I also learned from Vougar that they also receive between $5,000 and $7,000 a month until the next Olympics. This sounds sweet huh. Well, wrestlers are so well respected that for this Olympic games a Billionaire by the name of Soleiman Kerimov, who runs the NAFTA oil company is going to pay each wrestler with a gold another $500,000. Oh yea, one more thing. If the Russian wrestlers (Thats freestyle, Greco, and women’s teams) bring home ten gold medals, the $500,000 gets upgraded to $1,000,000. That is a lot of summers worth of camps. Maybe now I understand why many Russian wresters, wrestle late into there thirties.

I think that the facts above make it clear that in Russia, wrestling is a profession. Much like many other sports in our country. Now I know that a small number of our wrestlers can make it on the money that wrestling brings them. I also know that this money does not come from the government. Nevertheless, it would make it easier to concentrate on wrestling. This is your job, it even provides for your family. How can we as a wrestling community make it possible for our great athletes to be compensated for their accomplishments? Can we provide our up and coming stars with an opportunity to concentrate more on their wrestling, giving them the better chance to be the best they can be?