The Australian Olympic Swimming Team is ready to make its way to Rio de Janeiro this weekend after having spent their staging camp days training at Auburn University in Alabama. To get the team down to the site of the 2016 Olympic Games, a charter plane awaits the squad, partly courtesy of a generous benefactor.
Bevan Slattery, a technology entrepreneur out of Brisbane, donated $100,000 toward the $300,000 cost of hiring a private plan to transport the Australia swim team to Rio. According to The Australian, Swimming Australia’s high-performance committee determined in late 2015 that a charter flight was the best option, as the commercial carriers entailed overnight flights from U.S. to Rio, something the squad was trying to avoid.
As for paying for it, Slattery was inspired by what he saw everyday at St. Peters Western, the club at which his own children take lessons, as well as home to Australian medal-hopefuls Mitch Larkin, Emma McKeon and Madison Wilson. A member on the Board of Swimming Australia, Slattery said of his motivation to assist, “From just seeing the effort and investment these swimmers make — they’re just such good kids — so that’s how I got involved … I got emotionally invested.” (The Australian)
“Now being on the SA board, Rio’s very important for the sport and for Australia because swimming’s part of our DNA — we love to see our swimmers succeed,” Slattery said.
Each of the 37 swimmers and 23 staff members of Team Australia’s swimming contingent will have a row of seats to themselves, something the Team Manager believes will be a helpful factor in the performance of the swimmers.
“Looking at the amount of time to get from the staging camp to Rio, it isn’t easy, so we thought it might make a difference, and I hope it will — we want to make sure our athletes are in their peak mental and physical capabilities.”
In the right direction . SA could put up a crowd fundinding scheme where ppl could contribute to projects like this.