An article from The Straits Times last Friday...it was on a seminar which I attended on Thursday afternoon. Guess what? I had a go at touching Iain Percy's Olympic Gold medal... SAILING $1m does not buy a gold medal But available funds can be used to help athletes excel in their sport By Chan Tse Chueen FACT: Financial support is critical in bringing about sporting success. But should it come before or after the success? Long-term investment and support allowed Iain Percy to win an Olympic gold at Sydney 2000. -- ALLSPORT Singapore offers athletes a monetary reward scheme that is more lucrative than most countries: Win an Olympic gold medal and earn $1 million. So, when Olympic sailing champion Iain Percy showed his gold medal to a group of awed student-sailors from St Hilda's Secondary School on Wednesday, he was asked immediately: 'Did you also get $1 million?' Percy, one of three Britons to strike gold at last year's Sydney Games, was puzzled. When the scheme was explained to him, the 25-year-old told Timesport it has no parallel in Britain. He also noted: 'You should give it before, not after. I won't need to be given this afterwards. I don't mind, obviously. 'But it's like saying get to the destination without any petrol in the car. When you get there, we'll give you all the petrol you want.' Discussion with SingaporeSailing on joint initiatives is what brings Percy to Singapore. -- ABDUL AZIZ HUSSIN Percy, who has started a coaching company called Competitive Sailing, is in town to discuss possible collaborations with SingaporeSailing. He also shared his country's formula for Olympic success with about 60 parents, sailors and officials at the National Stadium yesterday. A heavy financial commitment is the cornerstone of British success. According to the Finn-class champion, about US$60 million (S$105 million) was spent on elite performers in all sports in a single year, largely paid for by the national lottery. In sailing, the sum was about US$4.2 million. He estimated that each elite sailor used about 55,000 (S$139,700) per year. SingaporeSailing president Low Teo Ping puts the figure at no more than $40,000 in Singapore. A national athlete can also receive a training grant from the Singapore Sports Council, capped at $8,000, Low added. The total SingaporeSailing budget, including administration and broad base development, is under $1 million. The difference is reflected in the results. Britain's 2000 Olympic haul was 11 gold medals, 28 in total. Sailing accounted for five - three golds and two silvers. The Republic is still awaiting its first medal since weightlifter Tan Howe Liang's silver at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Percy, an economics graduate from Bristol University, is convinced the medals were the result of high and well-thought out investment plan. Monetary incentive will have little impact, he added. Singapore's former Asian Games champions Ben Tan and Siew Shaw Her agree that money is not the prime motivator. Tan, who collected $250,000 for his Asiad Laser gold in 1994, said: 'I think the incentive has a role to play. But I agree with Iain that it is not balanced. The financial investment should be the more important. Then, if you win, you get a small sum, rather than the other way round.' Siew, a 420 champion with crew Colin Ng, also collected $250,000 - his share of the $500,000 team award. He feels athletes must be driven by passion, and passion alone. He recalled: 'The first time they introduced the scheme in the 1991 Manila SEA Games, it created a distraction. 'I felt the media sensationalised it and everyone just wanted to talk about the money. I felt like the years I put in were not important.' Perhaps the huge financial pay-out here was necessary because of the perceived substantial sacrifices an athlete has to make. But will the sacrifices be so severe if the system were to be more supportive? Percy, who took two years off after his graduation to train full-time for the Olympics, said: 'The favourite question I am asked is what kind of sacrifices I have made. I don't feel I have lost out in any way, except maybe time spent with family. 'The support we had is not going to make you rich, but it won't bankrupt you.