CAIRO: Tareg Hamedi went from being a hard-working scholar athlete to a nationwide hero and millionaire after touchdown Saudi Arabia’s second-ever Olympic silver medal within the karate competitors in Tokyo three years in the past.
Olympic medals stay a rarity for athletes from the Arab world however those that do handle to get onto the rostrum can anticipate lavish rewards, from luxurious vehicles to land grants in addition to a wholesome increase to their financial institution balances.
Even because the sporting world debates the choice by World Athletics to award US$50,000 to trace and discipline gold medallists on the Paris Olympics, athletes from the area might be positive of a lot greater paydays if they’ll snare a title in France.
In Tokyo, Hamedi missed out on claiming his nation’s first gold medal in controversial circumstances when he knocked out his opponent with an unlawful excessive kick within the last and was disqualified.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman informed Hamedi he was a gold medallist in his nation’s eyes and the fighter was rewarded with the total 5 million riyal (US$1.33 million) prize promised to Olympic title winners.
Providing large monetary incentives to medal winners isn’t unknown elsewhere – Hong Kong fencer Cheung Ka Lengthy banked HK$5 million (US$640,300) for his Tokyo gold – however bestowing honours on champions has a protracted historical past within the Arab world.
Olympic medallists can anticipate streets, colleges and bridges to be named after them and it’s not simply oil-rich Gulf nations that provide lavish presents and financial rewards.
In Algeria, it’s customary for the nation’s president to honour Olympic champions with presents starting from luxurious vehicles to flats.
The winner of a gold medal in Morocco receives 2 million dirhams (US$200,000) whereas Egypt’s Nationwide Olympic Committee, in settlement with sponsors, has raised the worth of a gold medal to five million Egyptian kilos (US$105,220) for Paris.
The complete Iraqi nationwide soccer workforce that certified for Paris Olympics just lately obtained plots of land and monetary bonuses from the prime minister.
Qatar has lengthy used monetary incentives to draw athletes from different international locations to compete for the gas-rich state and the rewards for medal success are considered beneficiant, even when they aren’t publicly disclosed.
Egypt-born weightlifter Fares Ibrahim Hassouna switched allegiance to win Qatar’s first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo in 2021 in a transfer that didn’t go down properly with the Egyptian Weightlifting Federation.
“They splash cash on him simply as soccer golf equipment do on gamers,” federation chief Mahmoud Mahgoub mentioned on the time.