Aussie Paralympians Don’t Get Paid Even if They Win a Medal at the Tokyo Games

Surely, we can do better?

Prepare to get angry ‘cos it’s been revealed that Australia’s Paralympians don’t get paid at all by the governing body if they win a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Already, people were annoyed that Aussie Olympians were getting a measly $20,000 for a gold medal when the likes of Italy were getting $US71,000 for just a bronze. In light of that, zero rewards for our Paralympians is a low blow.

According to Paralympics Australia's CEO Lynne Anderson, this isn’t deliberate and they have been trying to change this.

“Paralympics Australia absolutely agrees that our Paralympians deserve equity of recognition,” Anderson said.

“PA has never had a funding program for Paralympic Games medalists as we just don’t have this funding available from grants or sponsorships. This is something we will look at again after the Tokyo Games.”

Any chance we can fast track that timeline?

Since the news got out, rugby sevens gold medalist from the 2016 Games Chloe Dalton has taken action into her own hands to rectify this issue.

The athlete has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for Paralympians who win a medal in these games, and already over $50,000 has been raised.

“My mind was blown when I found out they get zero dollars. I was under the impression it would be the same medal bonus across Olympics and Paralympics,” Dalton told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“A big part of it that made me feel so frustrated is that there isn’t a single Paralympian competing in Tokyo that would have put in less work than an Olympian.”

The plan with the funds raised is to split them equally between all Australian Paralympic medalists to show them that Australia supports the hard work and dedication they have put in to achieve this dream.

If you want to donate and support our Paralympians, just follow the link here.

Header Image: Ausparalympics via Instagram