Is this a first Brisbane 2032 effect? Eleven years before the deadline, the Australian Olympic movement is getting ready for battle. With a first priority: the athletes. The Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra (AIS) is shaking up its habits with the creation of a special fund, the first of its kind, intended to help Olympians successfully make the always delicate transition from their sporting career to their professional life. The overall envelope remains modest, 600.000 Australian dollars per year (388.000 euros at current prices), with a ceiling of 17.500 dollars per athlete (11.300 euros), but it can help ensure the transition between aid and contracts in times of full sporting activity and the first income from the reconversion. The fund released by the AIS can also be used for athletes who need a long break from their discipline due to mental exhaustion or physical fatigue, at the end of an Olympic cycle. This new aid is part of a vast plan to reform the financing of high-level sport in Australia. Direct subsidies granted to athletes to reward their performances are now paid throughout their career, and even beyond, during the retraining phase. The AIS will thus allocate 44 million dollars (28,5 million euros) in means-tested financial aid, including the retirement fund, during the three years preceding the Paris Games in 2024. Another change: The Australian Institute of Sport will announce at the end of this year its funding plan for high-level Olympic sports until the Paris 2024 Games. For the first time, the federations will know at the start of the cycle all the aid that will be available to them. granted to prepare for the Olympic Games.
