Gold medalist Grant Hackett of Australia (C) is flanked by his compatriot Kieren Perkins, who took the silver, and bronze medalist US Chris Thompson after the men's 1500m freestyle final, 23 September 2000 at Sydney International Aquatic center during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. AFP PHOTO GREG WOOD (Photo by GREG WOOD / AFP) Photo: GREG WOOD
The Australian government announced NZ$300 million in extra funding for sport over the next two years to lay the groundwork for success when the nation hosts the Olympics for the third time in Brisbane in 2032.
The extra money, announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra, will take total government funding in sport up to NZ$530m over the next two years, the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) said.
More than NZ$18m of the money will go to funding the Direct Athlete Investment Support Grants (DAIS) which helps competitors deal with cost of living pressures while training. "We have said many times that a successful home Games needs a successful home team, so this injection of funds at this time is fundamentally important to that outcome," said Australian Olympic Committee President Ian Chesterman.
"The lift in DAIS funding to cover more athletes is critical to giving them the confidence that they can focus on putting in the huge amount of work that is necessary to represent Australia on the international stage.
"The prime minister clearly gets what the Olympic sports do for this country so we thank him his commitment to helping our sports and our athletes. Our team will do us proud in Paris and that's the first stop on the runway to LA28 and then Brisbane."
The announcement comes in the wake of the recent government commitment of NZ$270m to fund a refurbishment of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra.
The AIS was once a world leader in sports science and athlete training, helping Australia outperform nations of similar size and development at the Olympics and in other international competitions. "I would like to thank the Australian government for its commitment to sport and providing our athletes the platform to win well," said Brisbane-born Kieren Perkins, the former Olympic champion swimmer who serves as chief executive of the ASC and AIS.
- Reuters