Tokyo medallists, some coaches get $41m reward

JAMAICA’S athletes who won medals at the Olympic Games and the coaches of individual medal winners will receive rich rewards.

The Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) and two of its key sponsorship partners, Supreme Ventures Limited, through the Supreme Ventures Foundation, and Mayberry Investments, announced in a joint release yesterday that they have come together to provide an ‘Olympic Rewards Programme’ – an investment package worth $41 million.

“For the Jamaica Olympic Association, this partnership represents critical aspects of our vision for the future of the business of sport and emphasises our conviction that the lives of athletes and coaches matter beyond the present,” said JOA President Christopher Samuda.

“The Jamaica Olympic Association, Supreme Ventures Limited and Mayberry Investments Limited have come together in an investment trilogy, at the heart of which are Jamaica’s athletes and coaches, and the strategy of which resides in financial prudence and security,” Samuda continued.

In announcing their contribution, the Supreme Ventures Foundation announced that they “will be rewarding the athletes that medalled at the recently concluded Olympic Games in Tokyo to the tune of $30 million”.

“We are incredibly proud of all athletes who have ever represented Jamaica on the world stage, and we are grateful to have this opportunity to reward this year’s cohort of medallists,” said Peter McConnell, chairman, Supreme Ventures Foundation.

“The Supreme Ventures Foundation is committed to rewarding high-performing Jamaicans from all cross sections of our society, and we see this as not just a one-time, short-term reward, but a longer-term gift with the potential to grow,” McConnell added.

The package will be supplemented by additional contributions of $6 million from Mayberry Investments and $5 million from the JOA, the apex body for local sports.

“Mayberry wishes to congratulate all the athletes that represented us at the Olympics and all of the people who worked so hard to make this national effort yet another success,” said Christopher Berry, executive chairman, Mayberry Investments Limited.

Secretary general and CEO of the JOA, Ryan Foster, said they and their partners are ‘proud’ to be contributing in this way.

“The Jamaica Olympic Association is extremely proud to be part of this Olympic Reward Programme with our partners Supreme Ventures Ltd and Mayberry Ltd. We believe that all our athletes are achievers by virtue of the sacrifices that they have made to represent their country and their own brand,” said Foster.

“This reward programme was not only centred around rewarding excellence in the present, but has an element of continuity which will pay dividends to all awardees after they would have completed their careers in sport,” he added.

Foster provided a breakdown of the total package, detailing prime amounts for individual medal winners.

A first-place finish, a gold medal, gets a $6-million reward; a silver medal winner will benefit with a $4-million reward; and a bronze medal winner will be rewarded with $2 million.

For medals won, $6 million will be shared among members of Jamaica’s first-place 4x100 metres women’s squad that won gold; while for the women’s 4x400 metres relay squad that placed third, $2 million will be shared among the members of the squad.

Coaches will also be rewarded for their work, earning $1 million for each athlete who won a gold medal, $750,000 for each athlete placing second, and $500,000 for a bronze-medal finish by their athlete.

This coaching reward is only applicable to individual medallists and not relays.

“The JOA has ensured that the often-overlooked coaches are included in this historic reward plan, making sure that their hard work in preparing athletes for excellence and the investment and sacrifice that they have made to help them self-actualise is tangibly recognised.” shared Foster.

The $41 million in rewards will go towards funding investment accounts at Mayberry Investments for each medallist, and coach whose athlete earned an individual medal.

The funds will be under management at Mayberry Investments for a period of three years, or until the athlete’s retirement from track and field, whichever is earlier.

At the end of the period, the athlete can decide whether they would like to cash in their investments or maintain their accounts.