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Riches promised for Ukraine medal winners
Ukrainian Prime Minister announced that Olympic medal winners could receive upto $100,000 for their achievements.
Ukraine's Olympic officials are optimistically counting on a quickly improving Olympic squad and hoping to better their performance at Sydney and Atlanta, when Ukraine grabbed 23 medals on both occasions.
To back up their confidence, the country's top sports officials are promising competitors riches beyond their wildest dreams.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, who also chairs the national Olympic committee, announced recently the cash incentives for the medal winners in Athens.
Olympic champions will receive $100,000 for their achievements, the silver medallists will receive $70,000, while the bronze medal winners will pocket $50,000.
The Secretary General of Ukraine's Olympic Committee Vladimir Gerashchenko told AFP that all the country's athletes were supplied with everything they needed to prepare for the Games in the best possible way.
He added that the team of 243 athletes (126 men and 117 women) is expected to be a more powerful squad than the one which contested the 2000 Olympics in Sydney when Ukraine picked up three gold, 10 silver and 10 bronze medals, to finish in the 21st place in the medal table.
Gerashchenko also said the country's athletes, many of whom are the world and European champions, would battle for the top places of the Olympics in numerous events.
He said the country's fans were pinning their hopes on the swimming team, expecting Yana Klochkova, Oleg Lisogor, Andrei Serdinov and the others to win the medals in Athens.
Ukraine's track and field athletes -- sprinter Zhanna Block, Yury Bilonog in shot put, high jumping star Inga Babakova and the others -- are also expected to increase the medal balance of the nation.
The country's divers Roman Volodkov and Alena Zhupina, fencer Vladimir Lukashenko, artistic gymnast Anna Bezsonova and weightlifters Igor Razorenov and Denis Gotfied are also among the Games medal favourites as well as the women's handball squad.
