Canadian sprinter Donovan Bailey was paid C$200,000 by
the Pan Am Games Organizing Committee as part of a
promotional contract he has with the event, according to
Randy Starkman of the TORONTO STAR. However, Bailey
"declined to race" in the event's 100 meters race on Sunday
in Winnipeg because Athletics Canada did not "originally
name him to the team after he finished third at the national
championships." Bailey said he "would not be properly
prepared to run," as "he changed his training schedule."
But Olympic gold medalist Marnie McBean yesterday "blasted"
Bailey for not running and said that he should "give the
$200,000 he got from organizers" to other Canadian athletes
(TORONTO STAR, 7/27). The NATIONAL POST's Scott Burnside
writes Bailey's decision was "a huge blow to a Pan Am Games
struggling to be seen as legitimate" (NATIONAL POST, 7/27).
SLOW SALES: In San Antonio, Jerry Briggs reported that
the "prospect of a financial loss" for the Games "looms"
unless ticket sales are "brisk over the next two weeks."
Sales have been "soft," as Games organizers had "hoped to
sell a million tickets," but that number was later revised
to a projection of 550,000. By Friday, sales were running
"slightly more than 310,000" (EXPRESS-NEWS, 7/24).
PICK ME, PICK ME: In Miami, Linda Robertson writes that
city officials from San Antonio, Raleigh/Durham and South FL
made "brief sales pitches" yesterday to host the 2007 Pan Am
Games. The site selection committee will pay each of the
cities a visit next month, with a decision expected to be
made two months later (MIAMI HERALD, 7/27).
