Now that she’s run and won her 22nd consecutive race in the Diamond Jubilee at Ascot, Black Caviar’s’ future as an athlete is uncertain. She’s had a great career, winning all the races she’s run, but what next?
It may be that if she returns home with an injury, she will enter retirement. This is likely to be even more lucrative than her racing career, and she will be enjoying the attention of some of Australia’s top stallions with which it is hoped she will breed future champions.
Which leads me to the question, should our professional athletes be considering similar retirement plans?
It is not uncommon for athletes to have lucrative second careers in retirement, however think of the future benefits to Australian sport if they were to consider taking part in a nationally coordinated breeding program.
It is clear the Australian Government is behind the push for international sporting success by Australians. The largest-ever injection of funds into Australian sport was made as part of the 2010-11 Budget and increased international success is one of the Australian Sports Commissions’ goals under its current strategic plan.
With that in mind, would it not make perfect sense to implement a breeding program for athletes, similar to that so successfully implemented in the horse-racing world?
Imagine the progeny created from a successful breeding program between say, the top male and female Australian cyclists. The directors of the GreenEDGE team would be poised at the playground, ready to sign them up to the next development program from the moment they set their feet on a bike pedal.
Likewise, imagine the upset at the Olympics as the offspring bred from Australian swimming legends begin to trickle out in the pool, dominating the world stage like never before. Little Libby Thorpes, Stephanie Magnussons and Ian Schippers could do wonders.
Olympic greats would surely enjoy taking part in a big after party at their final Olympics.
Perhaps it’s a Phar fetched idea, or just a Lap away from reality, but dreaming that an AIAB (Australian Institute of Athlete Breeding) could one day exist may give Aussies that extra edge on the sporting field, now and into the future.
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