Retired athletes struggle for survival
Retired runner Ai Dongmei, holding her baby daughter, displays medals she won as a professional athlete in her rented house in Beijing. Ai, the 1999 Beijng International Marathon champion, has lived in poverty since retirement and announced that she wants to sell her medals to support her child. Liu Jun |
Together with another three former teammates, the 1999 Beijing International Marathon champion is waiting for a court hearing after suing Wang Dexian, former head coach of China's athletics team, last September. They allege he defrauded them of competition earnings and training grants of about 50,000 yuan ($6,329) each.
"My time as a champion has passed. I have retired and I have to live a life," Ai was quoted as saying in Beijing News.
"But my heart is still hurting as there was no concern from my former team and there was nothing in return for years of devotion."
Ai ran with a Liaoning provincial team for eight years, but she was told after her retirement that for the whole time she was considered a trial athlete.
She now lives in Tongzhou District, about 20km from downtown Beijing, with her husband and one-year-old daughter.
Life is even tougher because years of training have left her with a damaged left foot, and lack of education bars her from all but the most basic jobs.
"I do not know what else I can do apart from sell some things in the market," a frustrated Ai said after announcing her decision on her Sina.com blog.
However, the timing of her announcement before the court hearing as well as the way it came to light through her Sina.com blog, have led some to question her true intentions, for example whether she is seeking to use public pressure to achieve a favorable court verdict.
In addition, not mentioned in her blog is the fact that her family lives in Heilongjiang, and it is her decision to eke out an existence in Beijing.
Yesterday, her former team Railway Sports Association attempted to clarify her situation, telling the Beijing News that they are "still dealing with her future work after retirement."
"Generally speaking, athletes in the team will be given a job in the railway system after retirement," the paper quoted a source as saying.
"But more and more athletes have retired and are waiting for a chance. It has become difficult to settle all the problems."
According to the team's rules, athletes who choose to search for a job by themselves will be given compensation. But they have not decided what the exact sum should be.
Feng Shuyong, head coach of the national track and field team, spoke of this concern at Ai's situation.
"It hurts my heart. She was a good athlete and won glory for our country. We should do more work on the settlement of retired athletes," he told Beijing News. "She belongs to a local association so we cannot get too involved."
Political pressure
At the fifth session of the 10th CPPCC last month, member Ye Qiaobo called for more government support for retired athletes.
"Athletes are engaged in a special profession with high risks, so after they retire they should be treated the same way as demobilized soldiers are treated in peace-time," Ye, who claimed China's first medal at the Winter Olympic Games in 1994, told China Daily at the time.
She said demobilized soldiers benefit from several preferential policies such as the possibility of reduced or suspended income tax. Injured soldiers get half-price train and plane tickets and receive pensions tailored to the severity of their injuries.
By contrast, athletes enjoy no such policies, and as a result many of them have a below-average standard of living.
But the situation is not likely to change in the short-term for Ai, although her decision to sell 10 medals from international races like Dalian International Marathon and Beijing Road Relay Race has attracted considerable public sympathy.
"I have no choice. It is a tough decision. But I still owe money to other people and also my child has to live."
"I will sell them and I hope someday I am able to buy them back. They are the glories of my life."
Ai is not the only athlete struggling to get by in retirement.
Zou Chunlan, a former women's weightlifting national champion who received little education, was forced to raise livestock, transport sand and work in a public bathhouse after she quit the sport.
When her plight came to light last year she received enough money in donations to open a laundry.
But for every Zou and Ai, there are many athletes whose pitiful existence is not known.
Jia Genping, a cyclist with four national gold medals, could not even afford to send her child to school and in her forties she still has to make a living from temporary jobs.
"I will never allow my child to follow me," Ai was quoted as saying. "I talked with my former teammates, and we all agreed that we would break their legs if our children pursue the same sport as us."
Deep concern
In addition to their lack of education, there are other reasons why some athletes suffer in retirement. Less-developed sports such as track and field and weightlifting do not offer the same financial returns as badminton, table tennis, diving and gymnastics.
Soccer and basketball players gain national fame and have considerable marketing potential, while Olympic champions are usually handsomely rewarded by authorities and sponsors.
Ye has been researching the livelihoods of retired athletes for more than two years and is deeply concerned about the situation.
She said there are approximately 50,000 people registered as athletes in China, and at least a quarter of that number retire each year. Most of them become athletes by choice, and only a small number can be expected to achieve success even after years of dedication.
Arguably the most successful of China's retired athletes is gymnastics legend Li Ning.
After winning three gold medals, two silver and one bronze at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, China's best-ever gymnast established a sportswear company bearing his own name that has become a world brand.
Following in Li's footsteps, retired national soccer team goal-poacher Hao Haidong has established a sportswear company in Dalian, Liaoning Province, while 1988 Olympic table tennis champion Chen Jing runs ping-pong clubs in southern metropolis Guangzhou.
Other athletes have capitalized on the convergence of the worlds of sports and entertainment.
Sydney Olympic gold medal winning gymnast Liu Xuan has released records and starred in movies and soap operas, and has now returned to her sport after qualifying as a judge.
Xinhua contributed to this report
(China Daily 04/12/2007 page22)
