R6-m carrot for London medallists
SOUTH Africa’s Olympic body will reward all medal winners in London, having set aside R6-million for the stars of the Olympics and Paralympics.
SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee president Gideon Sam said yesterday that Olympic and Paralympic medallists will get different rewards. SA ’ s Olympic gold medallists will receive R400 000 and their coaches will get R100 000. Paralympic gold medallists will get R100 000 and their coaches R20 000. SA ’ s Paralympians have consistently won more medals than the country’s Olympians. Olympic
silver medallists will receive R200 000 and their coaches R50 000, while bronze medallists will get R80 000 and their coaches R20 000. Paralympic silver medallists will receive R75 000 and their coaches R15 000. Bronze medallists will get R40 000 and their coaches R10 000.
In the case of relay medals, the money will be split between the team members.
Sam said the Sascoc board saw Olympic and Paralympic medals as the same, but said they had to make a distinction financially. There will be 10 500 Olympic athletes bidding to win 300 medals, while at the Paralympics there will be 4 000 athletes competing for 500 medals.
Sam pointed out that in the 100m sprint, there are only two gold medals on offer at the Olympics, one for men and one for women. But at the Paralympics – where athletes are categorised by their disabilities – there are 13 golds on offer for men and 12 for women. Even so, Sascoc has budgeted more for the Paralympics overall, setting aside R3.71-million for an expected 40 medals, compared with R2.85-million for 13 Olympic medals.
The 13 possible medals they expect from the Olympians include two golds (costing R1million), five silvers (R1.25-million) and six bronzes (R600 000). The 40 Paralympic medals expected comprise 17 golds (R2.04million), 13 silvers (R1.17-million) and 10 bronzes (R500 000).
Sascoc CEO Tubby Reddy said the money would come from their coffers, but would not include cash given by Lotto or the government. At the 2000 Games in Sydney, gold medallists were promised R1-million, silver medallists R500 000 and bronze medallists R250 000 – the highest rewards offered.