Posted: January 26, 2006

Athletics: Nelson Criticizes European Promoters For Inadequate Pay

By Bob Ramsak
© 2006 TRACK PROFILE Report, all rights reserved

Adam Nelson, the reigning World champion in the shot put, slammed organizers of major European competitions for not adequately compensating competitors in his event.

“You can’t expect a world class athlete to travel 4,500 or 7,000 miles to an event if they’re not going to get paid appropriately,” said the 30-year-old Nelson, speaking with reporters via teleconference from his home in Athens, Georgia. “I would really like to see the European meets start paying more.”

Nelson, who will make his 2006 debut at the Reebok-Boston Indoor Games on Saturday, won the world title in his event last August after a pair of successive runner-up finishes at the previous two Olympic Games and World Championships.

Unless the financial situation changes, Nelson, said, “I really don’t see doing too many meets in Europe next summer.”

[For more with Nelson, please see my story for the IAAF at http://www.iaaf.org/WIC06/news/Kind=2/newsId=33254.html ]

Besides Nelson’s claims of inadequate compensation, shot putters face another problem --very limited opportunities to compete in the sport’s biggest meets. Of the 34 international competitions granted Golden League or Grand Prix status in 2005, only 13 included the men’s shot put on their program. Of the six Golden League meets, in which competitors in selected events chased a year-end $1 million jackpot, only Berlin’s ISTAF meet included the event.

Nelson said that one fellow competitor, whom he did not name, told him that this year he would probably earn a third of what he earned competing in European meets a year or two ago.

Speaking frankly about the lack of sponsorship opportunities available to throwers in the sport, Nelson said that despite the event’s increased popularity among fans, adequate endorsement possibilities simply don’t exist.

“I’m in one of those events that’s considered a minor event by sponsors,” he said, primarily referring to the three shoe companies, Nike, adidas, and Reebok, who sponsor many of the sport’s athletes. “The sponsors are shoe companies, they are selling shoes. There’s not a big demand for thrower’s shoes.”

Seeking an endorsement deal, last year Nelson made headlines after auctioning himself on eBay. His highly-publicized effort earned him a one-month $12,000 endorsement from MedivoxRX, a subsidiary of Wizzard Software.

Nelson estimated that annual expenses related to competition, including food, training and coaching, non-reimbursed travel, and physiotherapy not covered by health insurance ranges from $20-25,000 per year. According to TPR’s annual prize money survey to be released early next month, Nelson earned about $100,000 in reported prize money in 2005. Of that, he won $60,000 for his win at the World championships, and $30,000 for his victory at the season-capping World Athletics Final in Monaco.

"Competitions like this make or break my year and really give me the financial base to move to the next year," Nelson said prior to his victory in Monaco. "I'm approaching it just like a World championships and trying to prepare mentally and physically in the same way. To have that kind of prize money available is a real motivation for me."

Privately, some meet organizers have admitted that the event is left off of their programs due to past doping disqualifications among shot putters. In a 2002 interview with TPR, shot putter Kevin Toth bemoaned the lack of competitive opportunities in his event, and said that the dearth of competitions did stem from doping alegations and suspensions.

“It’s because of C.J,” Toth said, referring to C.J. Hunter, who received a highly-publicized doping suspension after a positive test result came to light at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Toth himself was later implicated in the Balco scandal, subsequently banned, and retired from the sport.

If the event’s past reputation is the primary reason for little opportunity, it’s not deserved, Nelson said.

“If so, it’s unfair. You have to take a closer look and examine all the events,” Nelson said, adding that cheats have been caught across the board. “One good outcome of the Balco scandal is that the veil came off. It showed that you don’t have to look like a body builder to gain from steroids.”

Nelson said he’s not planning to revisit the eBay option during this indoor season, choosing instead to find a more long-term partner who will provide support through the 2008 Olympic Games, and perhaps beyond.

“I finally came to a conclusion that I want a sponsor who’s going to incorporate me into their mission statement,” he said, a firm that will utilize the engaging and articulate thrower for public speaking engagements and other promotional ventures.

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