Australian swimmers competing at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will earn up to A$50,000 ($35,000) for individual gold medals won in world record times under an incentive scheme funded by Gina Rinehart, the nation’s richest person.
Swimmers in individual events will earn A$20,000 (£10,500) for gold, A$15,000 (£7,880) for silver and A$10,000 (£5,250) for bronze, while relay swimmers will earn between A$2,500 (£1,312) and A$5,000 (£2,625) for finishing on the medal podium. Swimmers clocking a world record will earn an A$30,000 (£15,750) bonus.
With Australia the dominant swimming power in the Commonwealth, plenty of the team’s top athletes will be expected to cash in at Glasgow.
“These bonuses are a way of Australia saying thank you and showing the appreciation our athletes deserve for bringing our country such a sense of pride and achievement,” mining billionaire Rinehart said in a statement
“There is something very uplifting about seeing an Australian athlete stand on the podium while our flag is raised. Such exciting times make Australians proud and deserve to be celebrated.”
Olympic gold medallist Mollie O’Callaghan may be a major beneficiary of the scheme as a leading contender in the 100 and 200 metres freestyle, and is also a good chance in the 50 metres backstroke.
Rinehart and her company Hancock Prospecting have been prominent supporters of Australian swimmers in a sport where cash prizes are rare, even at the highest levels of competition. Global governing body World Aquatics paid out $4.38m (£3.29m) in prize money at its swimming events last year, including $20,000 (£15,000) for gold medals at the world championships in Singapore.
Australian Olympicand world champion Cameron McEvoy lamented that he did not earn a cent for clocking the men’s 50 metres freestyle world record at a meet in China this year, while the drug-friendly Enhanced Games offered world record-setters million-dollar bonuses.
McEvoy will be favourite to win the 50m freestyle in Glasgow and claim his first individual Commonwealth Games title after taking minor medals in 2014 and 2018.
Reuters
