PETALING JAYA, Feb 18 — The status of the national diver Bertrand Rhodict Lises in the Road To Gold (RTG) programme will be known after the programme’s committee meeting at the end of this month.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said that even though Bertrand is not an athlete under the RTG programme, the National Sports Council still gives 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 2024 Paris Olympics, Bertrand 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 other national diving aces Datuk Pandelela Rinong as well as Nur Dhabitah Sabri failed to qualify following a disappointing performance at the World Aquatic Championships in Doha, Qatar, recently.
Sarawakian athlete booked a ticket to Paris through the 10-metre 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 the opportunity to compete in the Olympics.
The RTG is an additional special support programme to help elite athletes achieve the country’s first Olympic gold medal 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. — Bernama
