Bonuses are nice, but it’s time Sascoc offered help to emerging athletes first

For all the efforts this week to raise funds for South Africa’s medallists, the sad reality is that a lack of bonuses is the least of our problems in the wake of a relatively disappointing Olympic Games.

After securing 10 medals in Rio five years ago, the SA team bagged just three at the Tokyo showpiece which ended last week.

And while Tatjana Schoenmaker and Bianca Buitendag deserve recognition and rewards for their efforts, a shortage in funding runs much deeper than that.

If we really want to help athletes in Olympic codes, long-term investments need to be made, not just one-off payments for individuals who have already reached the top.

Marathon swimmer Michael McGlynn finished eighth in the 10km open water race in Tokyo and Kyle Blignaut was sixth in the shot put. Both athletes are 21.

On the track, 20-year-old sprinter Shaun Maswanganyi reached the 100m and 200m semifinals, and in the pool, 22-year-old Kaylene Corbett was fifth in the 200m breaststroke final and 18-year-old Matthew Sates reached the 200m individual medley semifinals.

All these athletes, among others, have real potential to target medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but what is being done to help them prepare?

Even when Sascoc is able to assist athletes through its Opex programme, individuals and teams must first deliver at the highest level before they receive support.

Once athletes have climbed to the pinnacle of their sports, they are in a much better position to find their own funding through corporate sponsors.

Of course, they should still be assisted if required, but the investment in elite athletes needs to start lower down the ladder.

Individuals like McGlynn, Blignaut, Maswanganyi, Corbett and Sates have coaches and support teams around them, but they will struggle to find financial backing while they’re still climbing to the top.

Unfortunately, the way things are currently structured, they will receive little from Sascoc or their respective sports federations, which have financial problems of their own, in the build-up to the 2024 Paris Games.

As grateful as they may be for the crowdfunding efforts launched this week, Schoenmaker and Buitendag have already made it.

Buitendag has now retired, and as long as she markets herself well, Schoenmaker will be just fine.

But if we want to climb the medals table in Paris, support for potential medallists needs to be offered now.

That will be more useful to them than dishing out bonuses once they’re on the podium.

They have to fight to get to the top, and once they’re there, it’s a bit late to start offering them help.