Article by Julian Linden courtesy of the Courier Mail.
Australia’s champion swimmers have been given another massive boost ahead of next year’s Paris Olympics and Paralympics – a $1 million cash bonus from their biggest supporter as a reward for dominating the world in 2023.
It has been a long time coming but finally Australia’s elite swimmers are starting to get paid properly for their head spinning performances in the pool, thanks to the country’s richest woman and a recent change of heart from the sport’s world governing body.
It’s no secret that most of the best swimmers compete for love more than money because their salaries are pitiful compared to the mega bucks other professional athletes pocket but things are changing.
Kaylee McKeown, the world’s premier female swimmer, earned a staggering $440,000 in prize money and bonuses from this year’s world championships and World Cups.
Teenage superstar Mollie O’Callaghan collected over a quarter of a million bucks for her stunning performances in the build-up to Paris, as the Dolphins – including pool, open water and para swimmers – won a record $2.4 million over the season – $1.4 million from World Aquatics and a further $1 million from mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s Patron’s Medal Achievement Incentive Fund.
Rinehart already funds around 150 athletes but agreed to tip in even more cash to reward all the Aussies who cleaned up at the biggest global events. The bonus scheme will continue in Paris next year, adding another incentive for our unstoppable swimmers to shine on the biggest stage.
Swimmers were promised $20,000 for each gold medal they won, as well as $15,000 for any silvers and $10,000 for bronze medals plus $30,000 for any world records.
With the Dolphins topping the medals table at this year’s world championships in Fukuoka, winning 13 golds, eight silvers, six bronzes and setting five world records, that equated to a $982,000 from World Aquatics’ official prize pool plus $590,000 from the Patron’s Fund.
Lapping it up: Total Swimming prize money in 2023
2023 World championships:
13 gold
8 silver
6 bronze
5 world records
$982,000 official prize money
$590,000 Patron’s Fund
2023 World Para Swimming World Championships:
9 gold
7 silver
14 bronze
1 world record
$455,000 Patron’s Fund
2023 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup:
$439,000
Total prize money:
$2,466,000
At the world para-swimming championships in Manchester, the Australians won nine gold, seven silver and 14 bronze medals for a total of 30 medals. While there was no official prize money from the organisers at the par swimming world titles, the best-performing Australians did receive a total of $455,000 from Hancock Prospecting.
Benjamin Hance topped the list with $46,250, just ahead of Katja Dedekind ($45,000).
The Aussies also won $439,000 at the end of season World Cup – lifting their total earningsfor the year to over $2.4 million, with Australian Swimmers Association president Bronte Campbell saying the Patron’s Fund bonuses were having a hugely positive impact on the team.
“I know that the athletes stood on those blocks feeling so well supported,” Campbell said.
It’s a far cry from the days when competitors were struggling to make ends meet, especially when swimming’s old ruling body FINA would splurge millions on the lavish lifestyles of their executives instead of athletes.
That all ended when FINA’s disgraced leadership was replaced in 2021 and the organisation underwent major reform – including a name change to World Aquatics.
One of the first big changes they made was increasing prize money for swimmers and the high-flying Australians are among the biggest recipients cashing in.
Although the taxman will take a chunk of her earnings, McKeown won more money than any other swimmer in the world in 2023.
She picked up $97,000 in official prizemoney from the world championships – where she won gold medals in the 50 metres, 100m and 200m backstroke events plus two silvers from relays – as well as $67,500 bonus from Hancock.
Then at the World Cup – held over three legs in Berlin, Athens and Budapest – she pocketed another $275,000, including $150,000 as the best overall female, and $30,000 for breaking the 50m and 100m world records.
Undefeated in her 12 individual backstroke races she contested at the world championships and World Cup, the breakdown of McKeown’s $440,000 cash prizes are unfathomable.
In total, she swam 67 laps of the pool, earning $6,567 for each length she completed – or $131 a metre.
In all, she covered 3.35 kilometres in distance, in a combined time of around half an hour.
Striking it rich: Biggest winners in 2023
2023 World championships:
Kaylee McKeown – $440,000
Mollie O’Callaghan – $253,000
Ariarne Titmus – $205,000
Shayna Jack – $115,000
Sam Short – $113,000
Kyle Chalmers – $94,000
Benjamin Hance - $46,250
Katja Dedekind - $45,000
