AOC reveals $50m splash in fight for elite talent, including $10k promise to mothers
The Australian Olympic Committee has announced a $50 million project that is set to beef up the bank accounts of athletes and ensure the lure of pursuing the Games is more attractive in its fight for elite talent against codes such as the NRL and AFL.
The commitment announced on Thursday will support athletes who compete at any of the Winter or Summer Olympics between the 2026 Milano-Cortina Games and the 2032 Brisbane Games.
Included in the commitment is the AOC's Olympian Futures Fund, which will ensure every athlete receives a retirement grant of $32,000 per Games appearance, to be paid in four-year instalments starting 16 years after their first Games within the eligibility period.
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Also included is the promise that $10,000 per Games appearance will be given to each Olympian who gives birth and determines to return to elite sport, payable in the year of application.
Additionally, athletes who compete at any of the Olympics within the eligibility period will pocket a $5000 team selection payment per Games.
Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Mark Arbib talking at the funding announcement on Thursday. Getty
The AOC understands it's not possible to compete financially with codes such as the NRL and AFL, whose broadcast deals and salary caps are becoming increasingly richer.
But the AOC is committed to making the going easier for athletes, many of whom can't work or study full-time, if at all, as a result of chasing their Olympic dreams, and many of whom struggle to put food on the table and pay rent.
"The NRL, the AFL, they're giants, so we can't compete with them for dollars," said AOC chief executive Mark Arbib.
"Our Olympians are doing this for the love of the Olympic Games, for the love of the sport they're involved in. So we're not competing at that level.
"But what we do want to do is make sure that when our Olympians finish that there is money there in their bank accounts so they can get on with their lives. That's what's important.
"So there'll be young teenagers now who are thinking about what sort of sport they want to get involved in, and hopefully this will help them to pursue an Olympic dream."
From left: Emma McKeon, Jenna Strauch, Mollie O'Callaghan and Kaylee McKeown at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Getty
To use an example, athletes who compete at both the Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032 Olympics will guarantee themselves $64,000 in retirement grants, to be paid in instalments from 2044.
AOC president Ian Chesterman reiterated the importance of sweetening the Olympic pathway.
"We just want to create an environment where people want to stay in Olympic sports," Chesterman said.
"We want our Olympic sports to grow and we know there's a lot of competition for sporting talent, so we want to make our sports as attractive as they can be."
Chesterman hailed the project as the AOC's "most significant" funding commitment since the Australian Olympic Foundation was established ahead of the Sydney 2000 Games.
The new project will be funded by the AOF, which was set up in 1996 by then AOC president John Coates after he struck a deal to secure $88 million in capital. The AOF's balance has since sky-rocketed to $200 million.
The project will also be funded by philanthropists.
From left to right: AOC president Ian Chesterman, chief executive Mark Arbib and chef de mission Anna Meares at the funding announcement. Getty
Arbib explained why athletes would have to wait 16 years to start receiving their retirement funds.
"We're taking $20 million out of the AOF ... and we lock it up for 16 years. That then builds that money from $20 million to $51 million, which therefore covers the full payments. That is the rationale behind it," Arbib said.
"While at the moment these payments cover 2026-2032, the hope is that in the long term that we build a corpus inside this fund that will serve future Olympians. To do that we have to have some sort of financial responsibility around it, and that's where the 16 years comes into play."
Among the Australian Olympians who in recent years have competed at a Games after giving birth are distance runners Genevieve Gregson and Jessica Stenson, basketball legend Lauren Jackson, canoeist Alyce Wood, and water polo athlete Keesja Gofers.
Australian Olympic distance runners Jessica Stenson (left) and Genevieve Gregson pictured ahead of Paris 2024. Getty
Athletes won't need to return to the Olympics after giving birth to guarantee themselves the $10,000, but they must show they're committed to pursuing elite sport again.
Anna Meares, the legendary track cyclist and Australia's chef de mission for the Paris 2024 and LA 2028 Olympics, stressed the need to support athletes juggling motherhood with elite sport.
"I think we're starting to see, firstly, the awareness of how difficult it is, but it's definitely possible to do, and that there are multiple levels of support required around women and mothers going through the process of having children and coming back into high-performance sport," Meares said.
"It's traumatic to have a child. It's beautiful, but it is traumatic. And so [whatever] support we can put around them is absolutely critical.
"But for me, what I would like to see is ... the opportunity to have a career and be a mother can coexist. It's not easy. It's extremely difficult at times to balance that plate and not carry the guilt with you to try and balance that plate.
"But at the same time, we need to be able to put those role models in place to show women that it can be done, and there is a support network in place for you to be able to do it."
