OPEX programme brings hope for athletes - Michaela Whitebooi

It’s designed to give athletes financial as well as medical support ahead of major events, and it was confirmed last month Bidvest had come on board with a R60-million sponsorship over four years.

Whitebooi sees it as a game changer.

"I'm pretty excited about the OPEX, it took a while for them to get back into it. So, I think for all athletes just to know that OPEX is back there is a sense of hope that now you can travel more at ease, you don't have to worry about finances but it's also about the selection. You never know if you actually make the criteria or not, so I pray and hope that I do," she said.

OPEX is split into three tiers.

Whitebooi, a gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year, is considered to be at the top ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

"I am currently getting funding from them with a Paris scholarship. It is a lot of money but it's still not enough, so I pray and hope that I do get to go into OPEX because then I can go to all competitions that I need to, to get points because each competition that you miss you potentially losing that point and you go back to being lower in the world ranking," she added.

The Bidvest partnership comes on the back of SASCOC CEO Nozipho Jafta’s mandate to clean up the federation.

Perhaps Whitebooi speaks for most of her colleagues when she argues this is a step in the right direction.

"We always wanna know that there is a financial backup when we are trying to achieve our goals because we train 100% every single day. We put our minds to it and if you train at this level and there's no financial backing then you feel like you're doing it for nothing. So, I'm really happy that OPEX is there because now a lot of athletes will get money and I think the potential will just grow for South Africa to get better results at the Olympic games."