ABSTRACT
The idea of receiving money for winning sporting contests dates at least from the sixth century when Solon decreed that any Athenian gaining victory at the Olympic Games should be paid 600 drachmae. By the beginning of the nineteenth century the three-fold influence of rural sports, gentlemen's patronage and commercial exploitation had produced a class of competitor who was able and willing to derive financial benefit from any number of sporting activities. If we stay with the Olympic Games for a moment and trace the progress of track athletics from that time, we can see that running has always attracted those prepared to train hard since victory represented not only the winner's laurels but usually privileged status in society and for the Athenians and others some financial reward. Even the Corinthians were advised on good authority 'to run so that ye may obtain the prize'· with no emphasis or implication that simply taking part was acceptable, and the notion of deriving some practical benefit from victory was evident in the provision of much needed prizes in the form of food, drink and clothing in medieval sports. Pedestrian matches were made for large sums of money in prizes and wagers, whilst running initially for small sums of money was common at local athletic meetings up and down the country during the nineteenth century. The major games provided substantial prize funds for what were nominally amateur athletes, an activity against which the sporting governing bodies fought long and hard. At the Olympic Games, reconstituted in 1896, the concept of strict amateurism soon disappeared and inducements in kind were offered in the Games of 1906 where, for example, the Greek winner of the marathon 'won' a year's free board at his local restaurant. The manufacturers of equipment, particularly shoes, were
not long in entering the market place by covering the expenses of champion athletes who endorsed their products. Winning gradually became the whole purpose of competition as financial inducements and national prestige became paramount with 'professional' attitudes towards preparation and performance being encouraged by national amateur sporting bodies who feared international humiliation. Hence the Great Britain athletics team for the 1928 Games was sent abroad piecemeal with many missing the opening ceremony so that athletes could continue training at home for as long as possible before their event.2 Whilst the professionalisation of British athletes was heavily criticised from various quarters it continued due to increasing international competitive pressure and paid dividends at the Los Angeles Games in 1932 which was acclaimed 'a triumph atmospheric conditions being perfect, the fastest track ever constructed and the largest number of world records broken', with Britain winning four gold, six silver and four bronze medals.3
