Poland has spent a record 274 million zloty (134 million dollars) in preparing for the Beijing Games, the daily Rzeczpospolita reported on Monday, investing almost as much in 2008 as in the two previous summer Olympics combined, according to dpa. The Polish Olympic Committee will also bestow an additional 6 million zloty to medal winners, the daily reported. The amount of money spent is because of the lesson painfully learnt in 2004 in Athens, the daily commented, when Poland skimped on sports and came away with the fewest medals in decades. Poland is also sending a record 261 athletes this year to Beijing - the most it has sent in nearly three decades.
