Protecting the future
China compensates slain athlete, insures national team
Posted: Sunday November 22, 1998 02:24 PM
BEIJING, China (AP) -- China has bought insurance for its 1,400 national
team athletes, and compensation already has been paid to the family
of an Asian Games gold medal hopeful who was killed last month, an
official newspaper said Sunday.
The death of Wang Zeshou, China's top woman mountain biker, in
an accident in road training in October "highlighted the need for
greater protection for the fragile careers of the country's sports
stars and their dependents," the Business Weekly said.
Wang was a favorite for the gold medal in mountain cycling at
the Asian Games in Thailand next month, it said.
The People's Insurance (Life) Company of China, which signed a
contract with the China Sports Foundation in September to cover the
national team, paid 300,000 yuan (US$36,000) to Wang's parents
and husband earlier this month, the newspaper said.
That was the maximum amount under the insurance contract, which
entitles national team athletes to between 3,000 yuan (US$360)
and 300,000 yuan in compensation for accidents, the newspaper said.
The contract "is expected to ease Chinese athletes' worries
over the financial consequences of injury," it quoted Zhang
Faqiang, deputy director of the State General Administration of
Sports, as saying.
Efforts to secure insurance for Chinese athletes were
accelerated after Sang Lan, a 17-year-old gymnast, broke her neck
in a warm-up vault at the Goodwill Games in July, leaving her
paralyzed with no feeling in her lower body or hands.
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