By Razeen Gutta
After winning two medals at the Paris Games, Mpumelelo Mhlongo is South Africa’s highest Paralympic earner.
Before the games, the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee announced that Paralympic athletes would receive the same incentives as Olympic medalists.
Sunday’s conclusion to the showpiece saw South Africa bring home six medals.
Paralympic gold medallists will each take home R400,000, while their coaches will get R100,000. Silver medallists will receive R200,000 and R50,000 for their coaches, while bronze medallists will earn R75,000 and their coaches R25,000.
Mhlongo’s gold in the T44 100 metre and bronze in the T64 200 metre mean he will earn R475,000 for his performances – making him the highest South African earner.
Simone Kruger, 19, earns R400,000 for winning a gold medal in her debut Paralympic Games. She clinched the top spot as she threw a T38 record with a distance of 38.70 metres in the women’s discus throw F38.
Bronze medalists Donald Ramphadi and Lucas Sithole became the first ever South Africans to reach the podium in wheelchair tennis, and they each received R75,000 for their efforts.
Pictured above: Mpumelelo Mhlongo.
Source: @africafactszone
