Schoenmaker and Buitendag were the only athletes from Team South Africa to win medals at the Tokyo games.
South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker with her goldmedal after winning the final of the women’s 200m breaststroke swimming event during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on July 30, 2021.
JOHANNESBURG – Sascoc president Barry Hendricks on Monday confirmed to Eyewitness News that the organisation would not be issuing medal bonuses to Tatjana Schoenmaker and Bianca Buitendag.
Schoenmaker and Buitendag were the only athletes from Team South Africa to win medals at the Tokyo Games with Schoenmaker winning gold and silver in the 200m and 100m breaststroke, respectively.
Buitendag was a silver medallist in surfing, which made its debut in Japan.
Hendricks said it was not for a lack of trying: “This does not mean Sascoc does not want to issue performance bonuses. In fact, as we speak, we are trying to negotiate with partners to try and assist us in this regard.”
Hendricks added that that this would apply to Paralympic athletes: “If one has to give performance bonuses for medals in the Olympics, we would then have to do that to the Paralympic athletes as well.”
Hendricks cited budget constraints as a reason for the lack of medals in Tokyo: “Sascoc cannot place unrealistic expectations on its athletes when we know full well that we can’t compete with the likes of Great Britain. Great Britain receives £350 million over a four-year cycle in preparation for the Olympics. SASCOC receives R28 million over four years.”
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