Big cash bonuses for South Africa’s 2024 Olympic medal winners
South Africa’s medal winners at the 2024 Olympics are in line to score over R2 million in bonus incentives.
The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) sent a total of 138 athletes (excluding reserves) to compete in the Paris 2024 games.
Although Team South Africa for Paris was slightly smaller than Tokyo 2020, they brought home more medals.
South Africa finished with one gold and two silvers in Tokyo 2020 (delayed to 2021 due to Covid). Tatjana Smith (formerly Schoenmaker) won gold and silver, while Surfer Bianca Buitendag received the other silver.
In Paris 2024, South Africa improved this to six medals – one gold, three silvers and two bronzes.
Smith was again the headline medalist for South Africa, winning gold and silver in the 100m and 200m breaststroke, respectively – a switch in positions from the Tokyo games.
The men’s 4x100m relay team and javelinist Jo-Ane van Dyk received the other two silver medals near the end of the games.
The men’s rugby sevens team and mountain biker Alan Hatherly collected the two bronzes.
As per the incentives for the athletes, Sascoc gives monetary prizes to athletes who get a medal.
According to GroundUp, the National Lotteries Commission gave Team South Africa a R39 million grant, helping the country compete at the Olympics and Paralympics.
The grant for medal winners includes a bonus of R5 million, so the athletes and coaches should receive their incentives.
The monetary incentives for individuals, relay and team sports, and boats (2 athletes) are as follows:
Individuals
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | |
| Athlete | R400,000 | R200,000 | R75,000 |
| Coach | R100,000 | R50,000 | R25,000 |
Relays and team sports (per player/coach)
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | |
| Athlete | R100,000 | R75,000 | R50,000 |
| Coach | R100,000 | R75,000 | R50,000 |
Boats (2 athletes)
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | |
| Athlete | R200,000 | R100,000 | R40,000 |
| Coach | R100,000 | R50,000 | R20,000 |
South Africa’s winners should score a collective R2,175,000 for the athletes, including the coaches.
Smith and her coach, Rocco Meiring, will receive the largest share of the pie, R750,000, for both medals.
Despite only winning a bronze, the sevens rugby team will receive R700,000. The team’s 13 players should each receive R50,000, along with their coach, Philip Snyman’s R50,000.
The men’s 4x100m team – Akani Simbine, Bradley Nkoana, Bayanda Walaza and Shaun Maswanganyi – should receive a combined R300,000, while their coach will get an additional R75,000.
Van Dyk and her coach should get R250,000 for her silver medal, while Hatherly and his coach will get R100,000 for his bronze.
Although these athletes are lined up for these bonuses for their performance and bringing pride to the nation, the incentives pale in comparison to those of other countries.
Hong Kong, for instance, offers HK$6 million (R14 million) for gold, HK$ 3 million (R7 million) for silver, and HK$ 1.5 million (R3.5 million) for bronze.
Even those who come in eighth get a cash tip of over R850,000.
Although silver medals are still incredible achievements, the relay team and Van Dyk could have received a far larger reward if they had won gold.
On top of the Sascoc bonuses, the athletes could have received $50,000 (about R940,000) from World Athletics for winning gold from World Athletics.
World Athletics plans to only introduce prize money for Olympic Silver and Bronze Medals in the 2028 Los Angeles games.
A breakdown of the awards from Sascoc can be found below:
| Athlete/Coach | Sport | Medal | Prize |
| Tatjana Smith | Women’s 100m breaststroke | Gold | R400,000 |
| Rocco Meiring (Coach) | Women’s 100m breaststroke | Gold | R100,000 |
| Tatjana Smith | Women’s 200m breaststroke | Silver | R200,000 |
| Rocco Meiring (Coach) | Women’s 200m breaststroke | Silver | R50,000 |
| Jo-Ane van Dyk | Women’s javelin | Silver | R200,000 |
| Terseus Liebenberg (Coach) | Women’s javelin | Silver | R50,000 |
| Relay Team (4 Members) | Men’s 4x100m Relay | Silver | R300,000 (Total) |
| Paul Gorries (Coach) | Men’s 4x100m Relay | Silver | R75,000 |
| Sevens Team (13 Members) | Rugby Sevens | Bronze | R650,000 (Total) |
| Philip Snyman (Coach) | Rugby Sevens | Bronze | R50,000 |
| Alan Hatherly | Men’s Cross-Country Cycling | Bronze | R75,000 |
| Phil Dixon (Coach) | Men’s Cross-Country Cycling | Bronze | R25,000 |
| Total | – | – | R2,175,000 |
Read: I ate like an Olympic athlete for a day – and it did not go well
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