media_artricles :: 2017

Lewis hoping for medal bonus increase

THE TRINIDAD and Tobago Olympians may get more money in their pockets at the next Olympic Games, once they get on the podium that is.

President of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTO C) Brian Lewis revealed his aim to increase the medal bonuses at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. At the 2016 Rio Olympic Games the individual medal bonuses for TT athletes were $10,000 US for gold medallists, $8,000 for silver medallists and $5,000 for bronze medallists.

In the relay events the TT athletes had the opportunity to earn $20,000 US for gold collectively, $15,000 US for silver and $10,000 US for bronze.

The TTO C first introduced the medal bonuses for national athletes at the 2015 Pan American Games.

If Lewis gets his wish gold medal winners will earn $40,000 US saying, "The objective is to take the gold medal (bonus) to $40,000 US for the Tokyo 2020 (Games)." Lewis is also hopeful that the Olympic medal bonuses for bronze and silver medal winners will increase.

Lewis explained that the medal bonuses are part of TTO C's aim to be performance focused. "It's performance oriented and that's what we want to instil, in how the TTO C operates, a performance focused environment. It is better to aim for big goals and we want to take Team TTO (Trinidad and Tobago) in a very consistent way to the world." At the 2016 Rio Olympics there was a huge disparity in individual gold medal bonuses among countries. Olympic powerhouse USA gave its gold medal winners $25,000 US, while Russia, another force at the Olympic Games, gave its gold medal winners $61,000 US each.

Joseph Schooling became the first athlete from Singapore to win gold for his country at the Olympics when he claimed gold in the men's 100-metre butterfly in Rio. For his efforts Schooling was given $753,000 US. Some of the other countries which gave their athletes gold medal bonuses were Germany ($20,000 US), Austraila ($15,000 US), while Italian gold medal winners took home a whopping $185,000 US.

Great Britain does not give medal bonuses to its athletes.

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