Olympic Newsdesk- - London Olympic Salaries Defended; US Speedskating Shortfall

2012 Olympics Chiefs Say Bonuses are Fair

London 2012 officials defend their salaries and bonuses amid job cuts and pay freezes among other public sector workers caused by the economic crisis.

John Armitt, chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, the body overseeing the construction of venues and Olympic-related infrastructure, told the London Assembly Wednesday that he had no intention of deferring the bonus he earns on top of his $415,000 salary and insisted he would not expect his chief executive to take a pay cut.

"The bonuses paid on the Olympics are relatively low-level bonuses compared with the billions being paid in the City," said Armitt. "The City has not done all the things it set out to achieve. The ODA has done all the things it set out to achieve and in those circumstances I think it is fair that people should be sensibly rewarded."

"My salary package reflects the job I'm doing and the jobs I have done in the past."

Members of the assembly, a 25-member panel that holds the Mayor of London to account and investigates issues that matter to Londoners, had called for the ODA officials’ City-style bonuses to be deferred until after the Games.

Last week, Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell revealed that the ODA’s 206-person staff was paid a total of $2.9 million in bonuses in the year to March 2009. Higgins was awarded $330,800 in performance-related pay this year in addition to his salary. But he has voluntarily deferred half his bonus until 2012, subject to the Games being delivered on time and on budget.

Sebastian Coe, chair of the 2012 organizing committee, also appeared before the London Assembly where he was forced to defend attempts to secure a sports participation legacy from the 2012 Games. This was not the job of LOCOG but of the British government, he emphasized.

"The legacy from sports participation is a better story than is currently being told," Coe said. "My concern for some time is that we are not collating that narrative as well as we could be.”

Budget Shortfall for US Speedskating

US Speedskating faces a $300,000 budget shortfall due after the bankruptcy of a major foreign sponsor.

A Dutch court declared DSB Bank bankrupt on Monday forcing US Speedskating to form a new financial plan for the rest of the 2009-2010 speed skating season.

Alan Ashley, USOC Team Leader for the Winter Olympic Sports, will meet with US Speedskating CEO Bob Crowley this weekend to assess the impact of the shortfall.

Despite the shortfall, US Speedskating will keep its existing schedule.

US Speedskating is searching for more funds with the Vancouver Olympics four months away. US Speedskating noted sponsorship money decreased significantly in the past two years due to the economic crisis.

“There are very attractive sponsorship opportunities now available,” Crowley said in a statement. “And this is a great opportunity for a company to attach themselves, at a very low cost, to the sport that is projected to win a record number of Olympic medals.”

South African World Cup Chief Weighs in on 2020 Olympic Bid

The top official for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa says a successful tournament could set up a great opportunity for Africa to get the Olympics for the first time.

Danny Jordaan, CEO for the 2010 World Cup, told the Associated Press in New York, that he can see Johannesburg, Cape Town or Durban bidding biding for the 2020 Games.

He made the comments after meeting with UN Secretary General Ban-ki Moon.

Jordaan said “the IOC decided to give South America its first Olympics, so the only continent now without an Olympics is the African continent, and therefore I think it’s something that the IOC certainly will have to begin to think about.”

The old concerns about Africa hosting multi-sport events would lead to huge deficits were proven wrong when FIFA said it expects record revenues from the South Africa World Cup.

"The argument was that any World Cup on the African continent will lead to huge financial losses. Therefore, Africa must wait," Jordaan said. "If we dismiss the argument for the World Cup, we've dismissed it also for the Olympics."

Predictions say more than $3 billion in revenue will be generated from the 2010 World Cup.

Jordaan added the secretary general “must” come to the World Cup next year.

"He must not only come to the continent when there is war, when he wants to talk about Darfur," he said. "He must come to Africa when Africa celebrates, when Africa excels. When there is good news he must always be there."

Samaranch Back at Work

A week after suffering a bout of fatigue, IOC Honorary President Juan Antonio Samaranch is back to normal, working again at his office in Barcelona, reports his assistant, Annie Inchauspe.

Samaranch was hospitalized while attending the Sportel convention in Monaco last week. Erroneous reports claimed he suffered a heart attack.

Samaranch, 89, stepped down as IOC President in 2001, but has kept involved with IOC activities, such as attending the Olympic Congress and IOC Session in Copenhagen earlier this month.

Written by Ed Hula III and Sam Steinberg.