CAIRO: Tareg Hamedi went from being a hard-working pupil 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 count on lavish rewards, from luxurious automobiles 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 area gold medallists on the Paris Olympics, athletes from the area may be positive of a lot larger paydays if they will 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 advised Hamedi he was a gold medallist in his nation’s eyes and the fighter was rewarded with the complete 5 million riyal (US$1.33 million) prize promised to Olympic title winners.
Providing big monetary incentives to medal winners is just not 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 count on streets, colleges and bridges to be named after them and it isn’t simply oil-rich Gulf nations that supply lavish items and financial rewards.
In Algeria, it’s customary for the nation’s president to honour Olympic champions with items starting from luxurious automobiles to residences.
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.
Your entire Iraqi nationwide soccer workforce that certified for Paris Olympics lately obtained plots of land and monetary bonuses from the prime minister.
Qatar has lengthy used monetary incentives to draw athletes from different nations to compete for the gas-rich state and the rewards for medal success are considered beneficiant, even when they don’t seem to be 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.
