Okagbare gets $7, 000 bonus for gold medal

Commonwealth Games queen of the track, Blessing Okagbare has been rewarded with an instant bonus of $7,000 for her spectacular effort on Monday night, as she cruised to gold winning performance.

An obviously excited sports minister, Dr. Tammy Danagogo, had ordered that the National Sports Commission without delay pay medallists the agreed sums of cash bonus for gold, silver and bronze medals respectively.

Special Assistant on media to the minister of sports, Patrick Omorodion in a release noted that the minister said he had directed the National Sports Commission to ensure that any Nigerian athlete who wins gold, silve or bronze medals at the games, be paid their bonus instantly.

The Federal Government had last week pledged different sums of money to athletes who win gold, silver or bronze medals at the Glasgow Games as a way of motivating the athletes.

Under the arrangement, any athlete who wins a Gold medal will go home with $7,000, Silver medalist will get $4,000 while any athlete who wins Bronze medal will go home with $3,000.

“We want to make the athletes happy by paying them the money that the Federal Government promised on the spot. We do not want them to collect it after the Games, but as soon as they win they get their money. This will serve to further motivate them,” the minister said.

Danago said the reward is out- side what the government would do for the athletes when they re- turn to Nigeria after the games.

“This is an instant bonus to be given on the ground by the Na- tional Sports Commission,” he said, adding that “government will still honour and compensate athletes when we return.

“I am really very excited at this victory for Nigeria. Blessing Okagbare, like our other med- alists, has really made Nigeria proud. Nigerians are very happy that we are doing well,” Dr. Da- nagogo said after Okagbare’s victory.

Okagbare on Monday night set a new Commonwealth Games re- cord, when she finished at 10.85 secs to win the gold medal.

She beat Jamaican sprinter, Veronica Campbell-Brown to emerge the fastest woman in the Commonwealth and also broke Debbie Fergusonl’s 10.91 sec- onds of 12 years.

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