Moscow Challenge Press Conference (© IAAF)
Want to add a cool half million dollars to your World sprint title? Then if you are Kim Collins or another of the fastest men in the world, you have to get yourself a ticket to the Moscow Challenge. For the Moscow Challenge organisers, Russia’s Sportima sports marketing agency, are putting up a million dollar prize package for the competitors in the men’s 100 metre sprint at the Challenge.
To be staged in Moscow’s Luznikhi stadium on 20 September 2003, the Challenge is being organised in conjunction with the All-Russia Athletics Federation, the City of Moscow and a British sports Agency, Stellar Athletics. Backing the venture are Aeroflot, Bio-Max, Rosgsstrakh (a leading Russian insurance company) and Leman Pipe (a gas equipment supplier).
The aim of the organisers is to create an athletics spectacular with nine of the leading events of the year all wrapped up in a programme that will include music and dance displays involving a total of 2,000 artistes, including a 200 strong military choir and a 100 member ballet troupe.
According to Sportima Chairman Ilya Slutsky, pre-reservations of tickets have already started and it is planned to fill the Stadium with at least 55,000 spectators, with ticket prices ranging from a top price of $300 for VIP seating down to $10-$25 for the lowest priced places in the stands.
“This is well within the price range of the average Muscovite,” says Slutsky. “The average wage in Moscow today is around $500 a month.”
With a total budget of around $4,000,000, the Moscow Challenge will pay some $2.4 million in prize money with winner’s purses ranging from the $500,000 for the men’s 100m down to $75,000 for the ‘less popular’ events. The average will be around $100-125,000.
“We feel that this is representative of the attraction of the events concerned,” said a Stellar Athletics spokesman.
For Svetlana Feofanova, fresh from her victory in the women’s Pole Vault, and Sweden’s Christian Olsson, gold medallist in the Triple Jump, even the lower range of prize money is an attraction.
“You have to admit that it is a lot of money,” comments Olsson; “especially for an event like the Triple Jump.”
“I think that it is pretty good,” follows up Feofanova, “particularly when I can win it in my home city without having to do any travelling.”
A number of leading athletes have already committed to the Challenge according to the organisers, with the full line-up of the men and women’s 100m Finals, the medallists from the women’s Pole Vault and leaders of the men’s 1500m and the top finalists in the women’s 800 metres.
“We think that it is an excellent initiative,” said All-Russia Athletics Federation President, Valentin Balakhnichev.
Sportima are putting a major effort into promoting the Challenge, with billboard and television advertising and the printing of 400,000 flyers for the trays in the Moscow restaurants of the McDonalds fast-food chain.
