Uganda to give lifetime salaries, houses, cars to Olympic medalists

By Tufan Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) - Uganda’s president announced Wednesday that the country’s athletes who won medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be given lifetime salaries, cars and houses.

Yoweri Museveni met with the athletes who returned home with medals from the Summer Games and presented them with awards, the Daily Monitor newspaper reported.

The gold medalists will receive a monthly salary of 5 million Ugandan shillings ($1,420) in addition to a car, and a house will be built for their families.

Three million Ugandan shillings ($852) will be allocated to silver medalists, and a million Ugandan shillings ($284) to bronze medalists.

Ugandan athlete Joshua Cheptegei won the gold medal in the men's 5,000-meter race and the silver medal in the 10,000-meter race.

Peruth Chemutai brought the other gold medal home in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase.

Athlete Jacob Kiplimo also won a bronze medal in the men's 10,000-meter race.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz