McKenzie: SA athletes need to be better paid
Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie has reiterated the need for better compensation for athletes.
Welcoming some members of Team SA at the OR Tambo International Airport, McKenzie congratulated the athletes who participated in the Paris Olympics.
He told them sport has the power to unite diverse communities, and said government needs to relook funding for athletes.
"We, as South Africans, have a big responsibility. To make sure to take no less than 300 Olympians to the next Olympic event 2028. It's a promise that I'm making, that we will find the Tatjianas in the rural areas.
"Sport in the country changes today."
Jo-Ane van Dyk, who won a silver medal in the Javelin final over the weekend, yesterday, told a Johannesburg radio station that she was self-funded and also relied on her parents to support her financially as she chased her sporting dreams.
Olympic swimming champion Tatjana Smith has described her time at the Paris Games as bitter-sweet - knowing that she would be competing for the last time.
Smith bowed out with gold in the 100m breaststroke and silver in the 200m breaststroke in Paris, switching her podium positions from the previous Olympics in Tokyo.
In the process, she became South Africa's most decorated Olympian.
She says representing her country has been one of the highlights of her career.
Team SA has returned from Paris with a total of six medals - one gold, three silver and two bronze.
