Now, at least, we have a starting point. Being the person who can swim the fastest the longest may not get you on the front of a Wheaties box. But it is worth a million bucks. For most top-level athletes, the idea of competing for anything but money is such an outdated abstraction that to consider something like, oh, say, national pride or competitive joy is laughable. I sit in meetings with coaches and swimmers today where all the focus, energy and passion are on money.
Money is here, and it's here to stay.
So our goal is to use it in a way that can help us the most. Swimming is one of the few remaining Olympic sports that doesn't promise a lucrative professional career after the Games. Still, it is naive to think that plenty of money has not filtered in. Professional tournaments have been popular in Europe and Australia for several years. The idea of a quasi-governmental bonus for medals is not new, either.