Sascoc names first batch for Olympics and cash incentives for medallists

South African Sports Confederation, Olympic and Paralympic Committee (Sascoc) president Barry Hendricks has revealed financial incentives for medallists at the 2024 Summer Olympics in France. 

Announcing an initial squad containing a first batch of 39 members to represent Team SA in July, Hendricks said athletes who win a gold medal will be awarded R400,000 with the coach receiving R100,000. 

Athletes who win silver medals will earn =R200,000 and R75,000 for their coach while the bronze medal payouts will be R75,000 and R25,000 for their coach. 

“Incentives have become part and parcel of delivering Team SA,” said Hendricks adding Sascoc announced the first batch of the squad early because it has learnt from past mistakes. 

“As you become more experienced you learn lessons and you create more stability by announcing early. Athletes are in operation excellence, some of them are on Olympic solidarity, all we want to is to continue practising in the build up for Paris.” 

The initial squad of 39 athletes represents aquatics, athletics, canoeing, gymnastics, sport climbing, surfing and wrestling and the number is set to increase as qualifying is ongoing. 

Among the standout athletes announced were double medallist from Tokyo 2020 Tatjana Smith, swimmer Chad Le Clos and sprinter Akani Simbine. 

Smith (formerly Schoenmaker) won gold in the women’s 200m breaststroke and silver in the 100m breaststroke in Tokyo while Le Clos will be attending his fourth Olympics to join an exclusive club that includes Khotso Mokoena, Ryk Neethling, Hendrik Ramaala, Roland Schoeman and Sunette Viljoen.

Le Clos has already entered the history books as the winner of the most Olympic medals (four) by a South African and he’ll be looking to add to that tally in Paris. 

Another Olympic medallist who will be in Paris is men’s 400m gold hero from Rio 2016 Wayde van Niekerk, whose 43.03 seconds on that occasion remains the world record. 

The women’s athletics representatives include three in the marathon — Gerda Steyn, who was 15th in Tokyo 2020 and has since lowered the South African record to 2hr 24min 3sec and is widely considered the world’s finest ultra-marathoner; Cian Oldknow and Irvette van Zyl, who is attending her third Olympics. 

Women’s 400m hurdler Rogain Joseph, a gold medallist from the recent African Games in Ghana, will be making her first Olympic appearance. 

There is a great deal of experience in the first batch with 15 of the 39 having competed in Tokyo four years ago. These are Aimee Canny, Pieter Coetze, Le Clos, Kaylene Corbett, Erin Gallagher, Rebecca Meder, Zakhiti Nene, Caitlin Rooskrantz, Matthew Sates, Simbine, Smith, Steyn, Van Niekerk, Van Zyl and Julia Vincent. 

Hendricks congratulated all the athletes selected to represent Team SA.

“It’s exciting and a compliment to the quality that exists in South Africa that we are able to announce a squad across numerous sports that is bursting with talent, achievers, and potential,” he said. 

Team SA first batch 

AQUATICS

Men: Pieter Coetze (100m, 200m backstroke), Chad le Clos (100m butterfly), Matthew Sates (100m, 200m butterfly and 200m IM) 

Women: Aimee Canny (200m freestyle), Kaylene Corbett (200m breaststroke), Erin Gallagher (100m butterfly), Rebecca Meder (200m IM), Tatjana Smith (100m, 200m breaststroke), Julia Vincent (diving, 3m springboard) 

ATHLETICS 

Men: Luxolo Adams (200m), Stephen Mokoka (marathon), Zakhiti Nene (400m), Lythe Pillay (400m), Benjamin Richardson (200m), Akani Simbine (100m), Tshepo Tshite (1500m), Wayde van Niekerk (400m), Jovan van Vuuren (long jump), Adriaan Wildschutt (5000m, 10000m) 

Women: Marione Fourie (100mH), Zeney Geldenhuys (400mH), Rogail Joseph (400mH), Cian Oldknow (marathon), Prudence Sekgodiso (800m), Gerda Steyn (marathon), Irvette van Zyl (marathon) 

CANOEING 

Men: Andrew Birkett (kayak sprint), Hamish Lovemore (kayak sprint) 

Women: Tiffany Koch (kayak sprint), Esti Olivier (kayak sprint) 

Management: Nkosi Mzolo (coach), Janet Simpkins (manager) 

GYMNASTICS 

Women: Caitlin Rooskrantz (artistic) 

Management: Ilse Pelser (coach) 

SPORT CLIMBING 

Men: Joshua Bruyns (speed climbing), Mel Janse van Rensburg (lead & boulder) 

Women: Aniya Holder (speed climbing), Lauren Mubheiber (lead & boulder) 

Management: Dean Bruyns (manager), John-David Muller (official coach) 

SURFING 

Men: Matthew McGillivray, Jordy Smith 

Women: Sarah Ann Baum 

Management: Christopher Bond (coach), Rezar De Nicker (coach, manager) 

WRESTLING 

Men: Nicholas Steyn (92kg) 

Management: Jan Roets (coach)