PETALING JAYA – The status of national diver Bertrand Rhodict Lises in the Road to Gold (RTG) programme will be known after its committee meeting at the end of this month.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said that even though Bertrand is not an athlete in the programme, the National Sports Council will still give him full support to prepare for his debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics this July.
“We will wait, (Bertrand’s status) will be discussed in the RTG committee meeting,” she said when met by reporters at the ‘Leap to the Stars’ 2024 High Jump Challenge here, yesterday.
Although Bertrand has qualified for the Paris Olympics, he does not meet the two main criteria of RTG – athletes must be ranked within the top 10 in the world or they are medallists from previous editions of the Olympics.
Bertrand is the country’s sole diving representative to Paris after national diving aces Datuk Pandelela Rinong and Nur Dhabitah Sabri failed to qualify, following a disappointing performance at the World Aquatic Championships in Doha, Qatar, recently.
The Sarawakian athlete booked a ticket to Paris through the 10m individual platform event he competed at the World Aquatic Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, last year.
Pandelela and Nur Dhabitah face the risk of being removed from the RTG programme after missing their opportunity to compete in the Olympics.
The RTG is a special support programme to help elite athletes achieve the country’s first Olympic gold in Paris 2024 or Los Angeles 2028.
Athletes under the RTG receive an additional allowance of RM3,000 a month (on top of the usual allowance), as well as other special benefits in terms of sports science expertise, participation in overseas tournaments and coaching. – February 18, 2024