OPINION: Support and bonuses offer relief for Olympic athletes

In the build-up to next month’s Paris Olympics, there were concerns that athletes would not receive sufficient support in preparation, but credit must be given where it’s due and the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) has come to the party.

It was confirmed last month that Bidvest had come on board as official Team South Africa sponsors, injecting R66 million into Sascoc as part of a four-year deal and stabilising the umbrella body’s financial status along with other partners and sponsors.

This would have come as a great relief to many local sports stars, with Sascoc able to relaunch its Operation Excellence (Opex) programme, which provides funding and support for athletes.

The Opex programme had previously been placed on hold due to a lack of funding, which had affected athletes over the last Olympic cycle, leaving them to fend largely for themselves for a period.

Medal incentives

In addition to the resurrection of Opex, Sascoc has announced multiple incentives for Olympic athletes at the Paris Games, offering cash bonuses to medallists and their coaches.

The national Olympic committee revealed recently that individual gold medallists would receive R400 000, while silver medallists would get R200 000 and bronze medallists would earn R75 000. On top of this, their coaches would receive R100 000 (gold), R50 000 (silver) and R25 000 (bronze).

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This week, further incentives were announced.

In team sports and relay events, each individual (including the coach) will receive R100 000 for gold, R75 000 for silver and R50 000 for bronze.

In rowing and canoeing, each athlete will get R200 000 for gold, R100 000 for silver and R40 000 for bronze. Coaches will receive R100 000 (gold), R50 000 (silver) and R20 000 (bronze).

Large squad

With a large squad of 114 athletes in 15 codes having already been unveiled, and one more team announcement to come, South Africa will be well represented in Paris.

And with sufficient financial support, incentives and training camps in advance, Sascoc has done well to ensure the athletes have got the backing they need to deliver positive results against the world’s best.