The swimmer from Harderwijk previously won the silver medal in the 100m breaststroke behind Chantalle Zijderveld. She won a bronze medal in the 100-meter freestyle.
Wheelchair basketball players beat Germany to the final
Dutch wheelchair basketball players will compete against China in the final. Orange defeated Germany 52-42 in the semi-finals. China eliminated the defending champion, the United States, 41-36. Wheelchair basketball players are European and world champions. They won a bronze medal at the 2012 and 2016 London Paralympic Games.
Orange had a small lead for a long time against Germany, who reached the final in Rio. But after some mistakes from the Dutch side, the German players came to their side in the third quarter. In an exciting final quarter, the Netherlands made better use of their chances, running out again and not giving up on the win.
Mariska Baiger was good at 30 points. Bo Kramer scored 14 points. “It wasn’t our best offensive match and certainly not me,” Kramer said relieved. But we kept fighting and defended hard. I think we won in the end because of that.” Women national coach Geertjan van der Linden lost 45-38 to China in the group stage. This is the only loss for the Dutch national team in the tournament.
Australia gives Paralympic medalists equal pay
Australian athletes who won a medal at the Paralympic Games will receive the same financial reward as their compatriots who achieved success at the Olympics a few weeks earlier. Gold proceeds 20,000 Australian dollars, converted approximately 12,500 euros. Silver is good for $15,000, and bronze is $10,000.
Some Paralympic athletes from Australia have complained that they do not receive rewards for winning medals, unlike Olympic athletes. The Australian government decided to do something about it. The financial reward will be offset with immediate effect.
“This is great news for our incredible Tokyo Paralympic medalists, who have done their best to give everything for the country. They have inspired us and made us happy,” said Jock O’Callaghan, president of the Australian Paralympic Committee. According to O’Callaghan, the commission does not have the financial means to pay the rewards. Therefore, it is dependent on government support.
NOC*NSF says there is still a difference in the Netherlands between the reward for an Olympics and a Paralympic medal, but it’s dwindling. After the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, the National Oil Corporation*NSF said it would “evaluate the medal reward system and see if a change is desirable.”
“The current teams were last discussed with the athletes and their representatives in Fall 2018,” Umbrella Sports says, without mentioning the amounts. “This discussion narrowed the difference between the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022, by increasing the Paralympic reward more than the Olympic.”
When it comes to supporting athletes and contributing to their training and competition programs, NOC*NSF does not distinguish between athletes who go to Olympic, Paralympic, or other major sporting events.
