By DAVE THEALL, Times wires
Published April 28, 2004
LONDON - Guarding against terrorism and natural disasters in Athens, the IOC took the unprecedented step of buying insurance in case the Olympic Games are canceled. The International Olympic Committee's $170-million policy guarantees the organization and affiliated national committees and sports federations have enough money to continue operations. The policy would not compensate individuals.
The policy also doesn't cover corporate sponsors and TV networks, which have billions of dollars riding on the Athens Games. Many have insurance, and city organizers underwrite their own liability coverage.
IOC president Jacques Rogge said Tuesday insurance was "standard prudent judgment" and reflects no lack of confidence in the Aug. 13-29 Games, which have been troubled by construction delays and security worries.
The IOC would not be covered if the Games are called off because of the delays, IOC finance chairman Richard Carrion said.
In other Olympic news, a Senate committee obtained secret documents that could help U.S. officials keep drug cheaters out of the Athens Games.
The Justice Department's decision to turn over the materials subpoenaed by the Commerce Committee was considered virtually unprecedented during a federal investigation.
Still, it's unclear whether anti-doping authorities will have access to the documents, obtained during the grand jury probe of an alleged steroid-distribution ring. The Commerce Committee had sought "documents relating to U.S. amateur athletes' alleged purchase of banned performance-enhancing substances from San Francisco's Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) and their possible use of such substances."
GOLF: Presidents Cup playoff eliminated
No more playoffs for the Presidents Cup. The team tournament between the United States and an international squad will share the title if regulation play ends in a tie, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said. The new policy takes effect at next year's event, which features a team of 12 U.S. players competing against a team from the rest of the world outside Europe.
BIG BRITISH PURSE: The sport's oldest championship is the richest major, thanks to a modest increase in prize money at the British Open coupled with a better exchange rate. The purse would be $7.152-million, with nearly $1.3-million going to the winner. But that's only if the exchange rate for the British pound - at $1.788 on Tuesday - remains the same.
AREA WINNER: Jackie Currier of Walden Lake Country Club in Plant City birdied the first hole of a playoff to win the West Coast Women's Golf Association championship. The two-day tournament was played at Laurel Oak Country Club in Sarasota. Currier shot 4-over 148 (73-75) to tie defending champion Kathy Hunt (74-74).
TENNIS: Wimbledon may have seven-figure prizes
Wimbledon could have its first $1-million winners this summer. The men's champion will receive $1,077,270 at the current exchange rate, with the top woman getting $1,002,174, organizers said.
In other news, the owner of the Wimbledon championship courts is selling debentures to raise as much as $82-million to finance a new retractable roof and improve facilities.
CYCLING: Tour de England?
Tour de France race director Jean-Marie Leblanc is in London to meet Mayor Ken Livingstone to discuss plans to start the sport's biggest race on the streets of England's capital, but no time frame was given. "London is a prestigious candidate," Leblanc said. "We are very interested in the idea of starting the Tour de France in the center of London."
