Aussie athletes earning pittance
AUSTRALIA has been shamed by revelations it trails the rest of the world in Olympic athlete medal rewards, sparking urgent calls for a funding revolution to rescue its stars “from the breadline”.
An investigation by website Swimswam has ranked Australia last of 19 nations in financial rewards for athletes who win medals, below sports superpowers such as the US, Russia and Germany, but also the likes of Azerbaijan, Malaysia and Thailand.
While Australian athletes are promised $20,000 for a gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze, Singapore athletes can earn more than $1 million for winning gold. Nations such as Russia ($82,000) and the US ($50,000) are more in Australia’s range.
With Brisbane set to be awarded the 2032 Olympics, former beach volleyball gold medallist and Queensland Olympic Council president Natalie Cook is adamant the funding structure must change and will work on a plan she hopes to present to Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
“I know how hard it is – I have been there – but rather than whinge I want to be part of the solution and I’m calling on everyone to come together and update a system which was put in place for the Sydney Olympics but must be upgraded, particularly for Brisbane 2032,’’ Cook said.
“It would be different if our support along the way was on a par with the rest of the world but we are so far behind.
“The softball girls had to
pay to go to the Olympic selection camp in Sydney. There is no health cover, no sick pay, no super and if you get injured you can lose your funding.
“(Australian Institute of Sport director) Peter Conde has assured me that we will do a piece of work to take to the Prime Minister so Australia’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes can spend more time on task. Some are doing it really tough.”
Sweden don’t have medal rewards, other nations such as South Korea offer military exemptions while a German sponsor once offered free beer for life for gold medallists.
While the AIS hands out $14m a year to athletes, a recent survey of 521 athletes conducted by the non-profit, Australian Sports Foundation found many were teetering on the brink of retirement.
Just under half of the respondents said they earned below $23,000 a year, which is well below the minimum wage of $39,000.
“It was quite shocking,’’ said ASF chief executive Patrick Walker.
“It is a real burden for the athletes but I don’t think the public understands that. Apart from a small handful, these guys are on the breadline.”