What Are the Appearance Fees for Indoor Track Meets
Sports | TRACK AND FIELD; McKay's First Goal Goes Well Beyond Money
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/21/sports/track-and-field-mckay-s-first-goal-goes-well-beyond-money.html
TRACK AND FIELD
TRACK AND FIELD; McKay's First Goal Goes Well Beyond Money
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February 21, 1989
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Section D , Page
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Had Antonio McKay run in indoor track meets Friday night in Los Angeles or Saturday night in Cleveland, he would have earned handsome appearance fees. He also would have probably earned points that would have given him a better chance to win the $16,000 prize as the men's overall winner in the indoor Grand Prix.
Instead, McKay ran Saturday in Baton Rouge, La., for no appearance money and no Grand Prix points. The meet was the trials to choose the men who will represent the United States at 200 and 400 meters in the world indoor track and field championships. McKay is the defending world champion in the 400, and he won the 400 trials while losing a payday.
Yesterday, at a luncheon meeting of the Track Writers Association, McKay said he was glad he did what he did. But he was upset that only six men turned out for the 200-meter trials and three for the 400-meter trials. The rest of his colleagues, he said, were more interested in making money than representing their nation.
''I guess a lot of runners thought they wouldn't get reimbursed,'' said McKay, ''so they decided to run in Los Angeles or Cleveland. The apathy is bad. There shouldn't be any concern about the money.''
The Athletics Congress, the sport's national governing body, pays training expenses to almost 200 athletes. None of them turned out for the trials. The world championships will be held March 3-5 over a 200-meter track in Budapest. Friday's USA/ Mobil indoor championships at Madison Square Garden will serve as the trials for the other events.
The trials for the 200 and the 400 were held over Louisiana State's 200-meter track because American officials felt that would be a truer test than the Garden's tightly banked 160-yard track. McKay and Clarence Daniel, second at Baton Rouge, will be the American 400-meter runners in Budapest. Floyd Heard and Kevin Little will represent the United States in the 200.
On Friday, McKay will run the 400 against Daniel, Tim Simon, Michael Franks, Roddie Haley, Walter McCoy and Ray Armstead. The 25-year-old McKay has won this title four straight years. He set the American indoor record of 45.79 seconds in 1984, when he was a Georgia Tech freshman. He won Olympic relay gold medals in 1984 and 1988.
Outdoors, other 400-meter runners are sometimes faster than McKay. Indoors, McKay is the best.
What Are the Appearance Fees for Indoor Track Meets
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/21/sports/track-and-field-mckay-s-first-goal-goes-well-beyond-money.html
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