SA Government Can’t Pay Olympic Athletes Bonuses, Mzansi Raises the Cash Instead
- South Africans are raising money to pay the bonuses of Olympic medallists Tatjana Schoenmaker and Bianca Buitendag
- SASCOC President Barry Hendricks confirmed there was no cash available to fairly compensate the athletes
- So far, a crowdfunding campaign launched by Carel Nolte and Mike Sharman has raised at least R30 000 for the sports superstars
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Tatjana Schoenmaker and Bianca Buitendag are the only athletes from Team SA to have won medals in this year's Tokyo Olympics. The news that the pair might not receive bonuses for their incredible wins caused an outcry of concern from social media users.
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SASCOC (the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee) President Barry Hendricks confirmed the news to Mzansi. Hendricks says the disappointing decision was made because of a lack of budget but stakeholders continue to push for the finances to be made available.
“This does not mean SASCOC does not want to issue performance bonuses. In fact, as we speak, we are trying to negotiate with partners to try and assist us in this regard," he told Eyewitness News.
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However, kind South Africans quickly took matters into their own hands in the form of a crowdfunding campaign launched on social media. Carel Nolte, CMO of Easy Equities and Mike Sharman, founder of Matchkit, started the campaign as a way to encourage local businesses to contribute towards the athlete's bonuses.
“2016 Wayde van Niekerk earned R500,000 for winning gold and an extra R150,000 for breaking a World Record and Chad Le Clos earned R200,000 for a silver. By this standard, Tatjana Schoenmaker should be rewarded with at least R850,000 and Bianca Buitendag R200,000," Sharman tweeted.
Nolte saw the tweet and immediately pledged R10,000 while suggesting that other corporates jump on board to assist, Good Things Guy reports.
The campaign has already gathered more than R30 000 in donations and it's hoped the fund will only continue to grow.
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Top 3 proud moments in the Tokyo Olympics for Team South Africa
In some other sports news, Briefly News previously reported that The Tokyo Olympics were a bit of a bummer this time around with Team South Africa only collecting a few medals in the process. Even though some didn't win medals, the nation is proud of them. Briefly News takes a look at the top three highlights for South Africa in the Games.
1. Tatjana Schoenmaker
The young swimmer made South Africa extremely proud with her skills in the pool. Schoenmaker was definitely a person to watch and she broke two Olympic records in the process. The beautiful lady went home with a silver medal and later a gold medal, which was definitely a highlight.
2. Bianca Buitendag
Buitendag was barely mentioned in pre-Games speculations as a possible medal contender. But, with surfing making its Olympic debut, she put on the show of her life, according to The Citizen.
In the third round, Buitendag defeated Australia's seven-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore and the 27-year-old South African went on to win a stunning silver medal.
3. Akani Simbine
Although Simbine didn't get a medal, his performance was not a disappointment at all as he finished just off the podium in the men's 100m final to claim fourth place. He took to social media to talk about how he felt and said he will do a better job next time.
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Source: Briefly News
