1 month ago
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Gina Rinehart is generously set to donate a staggering amount of money to reward Australia’s heroic swimmers who claimed a whopping 28 medals at the Singapore World Aquatics Championships, which included 13 golds.
Golden girls Meg Harris, Kaylee McKeown and Mollie O’Callaghan starred as Australia pipped the USA in the medals table, to place second in the rankings, two gold medals behind China in first place.
It was a remarkable week for Australian swimming and the athletes are set to receive a big bonus from Ms Rinehart, which will recognise their hard work and dedication to the sport.
Australia’s richest woman will pay out upwards of $300,000 to the athletes who claimed medals last week in Singapore.
Mrs Rinehart, a patron of swimming in Australia and the executive chairman of Hancock Prospecting, will donate $20,000 to every individual athlete who clinched gold last week. Those winning gold medals in relay events are set to pocket $5,000 per person.
Silver medallists will bank $15,000 each, while bronze medal winners will be paid $10,000 for each medal won.
O’Callaghan is set to pick up the biggest paycheque of $48,750, after she starred for Australia, retaining her women’s 200m freestyle title.
The five-time Olympic gold medallist also raced in both of Australia’s two triumphant relay teams, with O’Callaghan picking up golds in the 4x100m freestyle and the 4x200m freestyle relays. She also clinched a silver medal in the women’s 100m freestyle.
Kaylee McKeown will also pocket a hefty sum of cash. The Olympic champion picked up where she left off in Paris, claiming two gold medals in the 100m and 200m backstroke events, and will pocket $43,750, after also being a part of the women’s team that took silver in the 4x100m medley relay.
Olympic relay champion Lani Pallister will also bank $30,000, after she joined O’Callaghan to clinch gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay, while she also took silver in the women’s 800m freestyle and bronze in the 1500m freestyle.
Mrs Rinehart, who was awarded an Order of Merit by the Australian Olympic Committee in 2014, has supported Australian swimmers for over 30 years.
Aussie swimmers picked up just one gold medal at the London Olympics back in 2012.
But Mrs Rinehart was overjoyed with the incredible success Aussie swimmers have experienced in recent years, hailing the athletes for their commitment to their discipline.
'Warmest congratulations to all our swimmers, synchronised swimmers and other athletes who competed in Singapore. A spectacular effort!
'Few people truly understand the years of hard work, discipline and sacrifice required to compete at this level. To see Australia achieve second in the world - punching well above our population size - is amazing.
'Our swimmers have come so far since the London Olympics, where no gold medals were won, to now standing as the second-best swimming nation in the world! – behind only the USA.
'This success also reflects the years of sacrifice from parents, coaches and volunteers behind the scenes who help make these records possible.
'I'm delighted to once again provide financial bonuses to our medal winners in the sports where I'm a patron. It's a way of saying thank you and showing appreciation for their dedication and achievements for our country, and for helping to build national pride.
'For swimmers like Mollie and others who achieved multiple medals, they will receive bonuses for each and every medal earned.'
Elsewhere, Cameron McEvoy is set to take home a big paycheque after he won the men’s 50m freestyle, while Harris joined him, winning gold in the women’s 50m freestyle, also.
Dolphins head coach Rohan Taylor branded Singapore a ‘pretty special meet’.
‘The main purpose of this campaign was to set ourselves up for the runway into the LA Olympics but also to take a pulse check on where we are. There are a lot of great takeaways,’ he said.
'The progression of our rookies – we had 16-year-old Sienna Toohey produce a PB in a world championship semi-final, and Harry Turner - also at his first long course worlds, claim a bronze.
'The return to form of Jenna Forrester, Sam Short's gutsy 1500m effort, Kaylee (McKeown) proving without doubt she is one of the best athletes Australia has ever seen and Mollie (O'Callaghan) – her career 11 world championships golds tells the story, at only 21, tying with Thorpe.
'And then Lani Pallister setting herself to become one of the great distance swimmers and setting up a rivalry with Katie Ledecky that will be riveting to watch over the next three years.
'We will go home and look at what we keep doing, what we stop doing and what we need to start doing at our benchmark meets but this has been a successful, and pretty special, campaign.'
