Article courtesy of the Rowing Australia.
Rowing Australia, along with fellow Hancock Prospecting-supported organisations Swimming Queensland, the Australian Swimmer’s Association, Volleyball Australia and Artistic Swimming Australia, will be the recipient of a generous new program from our Patron Mrs Gina Rinehart AO to reward top athletes for medal achievements and world records.
The Patron’s Medal Achievement Incentive Fund, powered by Hancock Prospecting, will commit an additional $3m over two years in the lead up to and during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
It will provide performance-based payments to the country’s best rowers, swimmers, volleyballers and artistic swimmers should they win medals at a World Championships, Olympic or Paralympic Games.
It is the only private performance initiative of its scale to benefit Australian Olympic and Paralympic sport medal achievers, outside Government and Australian Olympic Committee funding.
A sum of $1.5 million dollars will be allocated annually and is in addition to the long-term direct athlete assistance payments and High Performance program support that each sport’s Patron, Mrs Rinehart AO, through her business Hancock Prospecting, already funds. That support aides close to 150 athletes each year.
Highest-performing athletes can earn $20,000 for Gold Medals and $30,000 for World Records. For Para Rowers and swimmers who do not receive prize money from their separate Governing bodies, the Patron’s Medal Achievement Incentive Fund is truly ground breaking.
Rowing Australia President Rob Scott praised Mrs Rinehart AO for again leading the way in supporting Australia’s most-outstanding athletes.
“Today’s launch of this very special achievement fund is much welcomed by our athletes, their families, coaches and Australia wide. There is no other Patron who has been so generous with both their personal support and advocacy for our athletes, and it has been a great joy to work alongside Mrs Rinehart AO and see our rower’s performance improve and improve,” Scott said.
“The financial support Gina Rinehart AO and Hancock Prospecting has announced is, incredibly, on top of the recently reported $60m+ investment she has already provided over the past decade that supports our fantastic world-class athletes.”
