Not only did Tyler Wright win the world title, the Australian Olympic Committee was so impressed with her that they’re spreading the wealth. Photo: WSL / Poullenot/Aquashot
Surfing is officially in the Olympics, and there are a few people who are livid about it. You know who’s not livid, though? The 2016 World Champion, Tyler Wright. That’s because the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) just decided she should get a pretty decent chunk of something called the Medal Incentive Funding program (MIF), a piggy bank with just over a million dollars in it that’s set aside to encourage Australian athletes to keep being athletes.
It’s not just Tyler, either. Because the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo has five new sports included, AOC big wigs decided to cut in Australian athletes who compete in the recently added sports based on their performance and their likely performance at the Olympics. Both Tyler Wright and 2016 SLS skateboarding champion Shane O’Neill are pocketing an extra $20,000 that they didn’t know they were getting. So far this year, Tyler Wright has won a pretty staggering $400,500. That’s not including whatever she gets from sponsorships, so $20,000 is something of a small drop in a deep bucket. It’s the thought that counts, though, right?
“Surfing is excited to be part of the Olympic movement and this extra funding from the AOC provides added incentive for our world tour athletes to achieve strong and consistent results leading into Tokyo in 2020,” said Layne Beachley, Surfing Australia Chair. “I am incredibly proud of Tyler Wright’s dominant performance on the 2016 WSL Women’s World Tour and have no doubt her outstanding achievements will inspire a generation of future World Champions and Olympians.”
Wright’s performance in 2016 was, as Beachley said, dominant. One of the most dominant campaigns in surfing’s history, in fact. From the outset of the year, it was obvious that Wright was the one to watch, and she didn’t let up on the gas once. “I sincerely appreciate the support from the AOC,” she said, “and am really looking forward to the opportunity to represent Australia on an Olympic stage.”
