11 Apr USATF Foundation establishes $50,000 Olympic qualifier bonus pool for elite grant recipients
INDIANAPOLIS – The USA Track & Field Foundation has created a bonus pool of $50,000 that will be divided amongst prior elite athlete grant recipients who qualify, and represent Team USA at the 2012 London Olympic Games this summer, announced Foundation Executive Director Tom Jackovic and Chairman Bob Greifeld today.
Athletes who have been awarded an Elite Athlete Development Grant since the program’s inception are eligible to receive a share of the pool. To date, Foundation grants have been issued to 103 different Olympic hopefuls over the past several years, many of whom are serious contenders to represent the USA in London this summer. Individual bonuses will be determined by the number of grantee athletes earning a spot on the Olympic team.
In 2008, the Foundation awarded $5,000 bonuses to nine recipients of the Elite Athlete Development Grant program, including David Oliver and Stephanie Brown Trafton. Both competitors went on to win medals at the Beijing Games, Oliver taking bronze in the 110m hurdles and Trafton winning gold in the discus throw.
“The USATF Foundation is spot on with their mission to support athletes like myself who don’t have the media attention and financial backing of some of the more popular events,” said Stephanie Brown Trafton, 2008 Olympic champion. “You provided a way for my coach to travel to the biggest competition of my lifetime, and without that piece of the puzzle filled in, I would not have been able to accomplish my wonderful gold medal performance.”
These special bonus grants will assist athletes with expenses associated with their Olympic Games preparation, including training costs, coaching, travel to competitions, health insurance, and injury care & prevention.
The Foundation Elite Athlete Grant Program contributes to the pursuit of world-class performances by American post-collegiate track and field athletes. Athletes must meet minimum performance and financial need standards to be eligible.