Olympic Heroes Honoured At The London 2012 Olympic Games Awards And Appreciation Dinner

Olympic Heroes Honoured At The London 2012 Olympic Games Awards And Appreciation Dinner

Team Singapore Paddlers Rewarded Through SNOC MAP for Double Bronze at London 2012

Singapore, 25 September 2012 - Olympic medallists Feng Tianwei, Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu were honoured tonight for their historic medal wins at the London 2012 Olympic Games. In recognition of their outstanding performances, the paddlers took home a well-deserved S$625,000 in total through the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme (MAP). The awards were presented by Guest-of-Honour Mr Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister and President, Singapore National Olympic Council, and Mr Chan Chun Sing, Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, at the London 2012 Olympic Games Awards and Appreciation Dinner.

2. "Your mental strength and fortitude represent qualities we can all learn from," said DPM Teo, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs. "You have blazed the trail and inspired many young people who now dare to dream even bigger because of you!"

3. At the ceremony held at Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the women's table tennis team comprising Feng Tianwei, Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu, received a total of S$375,000 for clinching the women's team bronze medal. Singapore's most bemedalled Olympian, Feng Tianwei, was also awarded S$250,000 for clinching the bronze medal in the women's table tennis singles event. This is Feng's third Olympic medal, following her silver medal in the women's team event in Beijing 2008, as well as Singapore's first ever medal in the women's table tennis singles event.

4. "We have had a tough year leading to the London 2012 Olympic Games, and I am very happy that we came together as a team to win two medals for Singapore," said Feng Tianwei. "The Olympic Games ended our year on a high note, and I also hope that our performance will encourage more Singaporeans to come forward to take up table tennis and bring more glory to our nation."

5. In recognition of their gallant efforts, Team Singapore London 2012 athletes were officially inaugurated into the hallowed company of our nation's Olympians. They were each presented with exclusive International Olympic Committee pins and awarded Olympian Singapore medallions. Each medallion is unique and bears a special number, beginning from the first Olympian who took part in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

6. Other Team Singapore Olympians present to celebrate the achievements of our athletes include local sprint legend Mr C Kunalan from the 1964 Tokyo and 1968 Mexico City Games, and Mr Chia Boon Leong from the 1948 London Games, who, at age 87, was the oldest Olympian present at the event. Most notably, Team Singapore's first ever Olympic medallist Mr Tan Howe Liang, who clinched a silver medal in weightlifting in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, was also present.

7. 23 Team Singapore athletes competed in nine sports at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London from 27 July to 12 August 2012. They clinched a total of two bronze medals, bettering the nation's performance at any previous Olympic Games.

Annex A: Welcome Address by Mr Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security, Minister for Home Affairs and President of the Singapore National Olympic Council at the SNOC Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme (MAP) Presentation and Team Singapore Appreciation Dinner.

Click here to view the welcome address.

Annex B: About The SNOC Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme (MAP)

For competitive athletes, the cost of training at elite level requires an enormous financial investment over many years. Of all athletes who dream of winning an Olympic medal, only a small percentage will find themselves on the podium at the Games.

The Singapore National Olympic Council in the 1990s, under the direction of then President Dr. Yeo Ning Hong, devised an incentive scheme to reward medal-winning athletes. The Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme provides a cash payout to athletes who win medals at the Olympic, Asian, Commonwealth and South East Asian (SEA) Games.

The largest gold medal award is $1 million, payable to the athlete who claims an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games. The smallest is a $10,000 windfall for an individual gold medallist at the SEA Games. The value of the awards varies with the respective Games, with the Olympic Games providing significantly higher payouts. The awards also vary, based on individual medals versus team event or team sports medals.

There are ceilings on the awards. Athletes will be entitled to awards up to a maximum of three individual gold medals won at the SEA Games, up to two individual gold medals won at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games, and the first individual gold medal won at the Olympic Games.

All awards are presented to the winning athlete, not the National Sports Association but it is mandatory for all athletes to plough back a certain percentage of the MAP awards to their National Sports Association for future training and development. All awards are taxable.

The Tote Board/Singapore Pools (Pte) Ltd is the primary sponsor of the SNOC MAP awards.

Annex C: List of Appreciation Plaque Recipients