With the opening ceremony of the Turin Games only days away, the Uzbekistan Olympic Committee said Tuesday that $100,000 would be paid for any gold medals, $50,000 for silver and $25,000 for bronze, which is an enormous sum for a country that has an estimated per capita GDP of only $1,900 in terms of purchasing power parity.
However, the Uzbekistan Olympic team, which took off for Italy Monday, is unlikely to break the bank if it does triumph in Turin, as unlike the 178-member Russian delegation, it only has four competitors. Artyom Knyazev and Marina Aganina will represent the country together in ice dancing, Anastasia Gimazetdinova will also take to the ice in the figure skating competition and Kairat Ermetov will be going for glory in the men's downhill.
