Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese announced a $489 million AUD ($330 million USD) funding package for the nation’s Olympic athletes over the next two years.
Elite Australian athletes will receive a record $283 million AUD dedicated to direct support, training, and travel-related expenses — a 50% increase from their 2021-22 total. Paralympic sports are in line for an additional $54.9 million, doubling the previous investment. There will also be an extra $17.6 million set aside for direct athlete funding.
This year’s direct athlete support system saw $16.6 million funneled through 850 Australian athletes in Olympic sports from 2023-24, with the maximum individual salary set at $37,500. About 460 athletes will represent Australia in Paris at the Summer Olympics that begin later this month, where the Aussies will aim to improve upon its 6th-place finish in the Tokyo Olympic medal table on the backs of a stacked swimming contingent.
Last year, Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll claimed that the country’s Olympic and Paralympic sports were staring at a $2 billion deficit in the eight years until the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.
“The investment will be a major boost for Aussie spirits ahead of Paris next month, and will strengthen Australia’s hopes for gold at LA in 2028, Brisbane in 2032, Winter and Commonwealth Games events,” the Albanese government said in a press release on July 1. “The funding will create more opportunities and better development pathways for high performance athletes to thrive while inspiring the next generation of Australians to be more active.”
By comparison, USA Swimming invested about $3.5 million in direct athlete support last year. The United States is notoriously the only nation that does not offer direct government funding of its Olympic athletes.
Related:
Albanese government? lol
“ By comparison, USA Swimming invested about $3.5 million in direct athlete support last year. The United States is notoriously the only nation that does not offer direct government funding of its Olympic athletes.”
From a pure political perspective this is shocking to me. Sports has been utilized as a political pawn for basically forever and I’m surprised that the US can’t even feign interest in promoting sports, if only as a way to show superior performance by its citizens.
Besides that ridiculous statement above, 3.5 million? Lol what are we even doing? Our best athletes have to have full time jobs in order to even have the dreams of continuing their sport.
It’s because they don’t need to. USA has an army of NCAA swimmers at any given time who are all prime Olympic age. Although if NCAA swimming falls apart then they might need some government funding.
Other countries need direct support or they’d basically not have any swimmers over the age of 18 who could afford to live.
I see that Kiah Melverton has announced her retirement on instagram.
2022 was a great year for her; swimming the final of that 4×200 Commonwealth Games world record and an 800 Free silver medal behind Ledecky at Budapest World Championships. Congratulations on your career and best wishes for the future.
Hear! Hear!
This is not new money
Feels weird paralympics gets that much money.
I imagine there are probably a lot of hidden costs for para athletes. Many of them need 1:1 assistance, so that’s a lot more personnel to travel, medical support, wheelchair transportation and other specialized support and training tools, maybe a support animal to keep and travel with, etc.
Spot on! Plus able bodied athletes do have the “luxury” of having more outside the pool income opportunities.
NO ONE on the US Paralympic Swim team gets a 1:1 aide. They typically have 1 or 2 aides who are spread way too thin.
The whole US Paralympic team has 1-2 aides? That’s just absolutely not true.
The paralympic team wins more medals, and need more supports.
I wondered when the pre-home Olympics money would start pouring in
Americans, BEWARE!
Yaz