By Staff Writer
South Africa’s Paralympic athletes will get the same reward money as Olympic athletes for winning medals at the Paris Games in July and August.
Athletes will get R400,000 for winning a gold medal, R200,000 for silver, and R75,000 for bronze.
Coaches will receive R100,000 if their athletes win gold, R50,000 if they win silver, and R25,000 if they win bronze.
Kat Swanepoel, a swimmer who uses a wheelchair, was reclassified and will now compete against athletes who can walk.
This change came after she did well at the 2023 World Championships, winning gold in the 150m individual medley and 50m backstroke, and silver in the 50m breaststroke.
Despite the tougher competition, she qualified for the Paris Games in several events.
Swanepoel said she was determined to win and humorously joked about her new event, butterfly, saying, “I haven’t drowned yet,” TimesLive reported.
Simoné Kruger, a 19-year-old discus thrower and 2023 world champion with cerebral palsy, is confident about her medal chances.
Shaun Anderson is a 51-year-old disabled archer competing in his third Games.
Anderson has developed a unique trigger system using a mouth plate, improving his ability to shoot arrows more easily.
Barry Hendricks, president of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, said that equal treatment for Paralympic athletes was essential to them.
Compiled by Staff Writer
Pictured above: Paris Olympic medals.
Source: Paris2024/X
