Star hurdler Liu Xiang has rewarded his coach Sun Haiping with a
brand new Shanghai apartment.
The 23-year-old Athens gold medallist signed an endorsement with
the real estate group and part of the deal involved getting a
luxurious four-bedroom apartment (estimated at US$200,000) for his
beloved super coach.
"I just want him to live in a bigger house. I don't think this
is pay back or something, it is just a way to show my respect to
him," Liu told the Shanghai Youth Daily. "I feel so comfortable to
live in the same community with him. He is my coach so he deserves
a bigger house than me.
"As a public figure, I also hope my act will take some positives
in society," he added.
Sun is one of the most successful athletic coaches in China and
has trained Liu since 2001. The super coach led his young charge to
a series of sparkling moments highlighted with the gold medal show
at the Athens Games in 2004 and the 12.88-second world
record-breaking performance in Lausanne of Switzerland this
July.
But Sun is reported to live in a relatively small apartment in
Shanghai despite his household fame in China.
Based on the regulations of China's General Administration for
Sports (CGAS), athletes are able to pocket 50 percent of the prize
money while only 15 percent goes to their coaches.
Shanghai Youth Daily also reports that Sun finally accepted the
apartment after knocking back previous offers from Liu. The young
runner wanted to buy his coach a house immediately after the
success in Athens.
Sun said he was very pleased with his new home.
"I am quite happy knowing he signed the endorsement just for an
apartment for me," he said. "It is a kind of pride to see he really
cares about me."
Liu's move is also hailed by China's sports officials.
"Sun has contributed so much for Chinese track and field so it
is great that Liu solved his housing problem in his own way. This
is good for everyone," said Wang Dawei, vice-director of Track and
Field Administrative Center, the governing body of the sport in the
country.
Liu is arguably the most loved athlete in China and his
endorsement fee has rocketed over the past two years to make him
the second richest Chinese athlete behind the Houston Rockets
center Yao Ming.
Liu has a total of seven sponsorships this year, including
sports equipment, beverage, automobile, postal service, credit card
and mobile service.
According to Wang, the sponsorships are divided into three
levels with a top contract costing over 10 million yuan (US$1.25
million) and the second level at five million yuan
(US$625,000).
Considering these deals, local media estimate that the young
Olympian could be earning more than 20 million yuan (US$2.5
million) per year.
In another news, Liu Xiang fell off to the third place on
internet poll for the World Athlete of the Year award on
Tuesday.
Liu has taken up 20.17 percent of the total votes cast via
internet, compared with an initially leading percentage of 56.18
when the poll started on October 11, said the IAAF on its official
website.
Olympic discus throw champion Virgilijus Alekna from Lithuania
tops the ten-strong poll with 38.21 percent. He is followed by
sprinter Asafa Powell of Jamaica with 22.65 percent.
(China Daily and Xinhua News Agency October 25,
2006)