Every Bulgarian athlete who wins a gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will receive a 100 000 leva bonus from the Bulgarian state.

This was decided on January 15 in a joint session of the managements of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) and the State Agency for Youth and Sports (SAYS), mediapool.bg said.

The bonus was the same as what Bulgarian athletes received for a gold medal during the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Back then Maria Grozdeva and Milen Dobrev became Olympic champions, in sport shooting and weightlifting respectively.

Organisation of Bulgaria's sports delegation trip to China was also discussed at the January 15 meeting, mediapool.bg said. Offers from different airline companies were expected to be made.

SAYS provided about 900 000 leva for plane tickets, clothing and pocket money for the sports delegation members. The total amount of money that Bulgaria granted for preparation for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games was 8 million leva.