Sport: Futures on the Line

In just about every event at Grenoble this week, far more than medals are at stake. Personal futures as well as national prestige are on the line. Figure skaters from the West vie for ice-show contracts as well as medals; speed skaters from the East draw salaries from the State. They want to win and stay on the payroll. Colonel Marceau Crespin, France's director of sports, retorts to the charge that his team is 50% professional: "You are mistaken, monsieur. It is 100%." For 1,355 athletes from 37 nations the competition has never been...

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