Gina Rinehart to sponsor the Australian Olympic Team

A new partnership covering multiple Winter and Summer Games follows mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s sponsorship of Swimming Australia.

Bronte Campbell, Meg Harris, Emma Mckeon and Cate Campbell of Team Australia pose with the gold medal for the Women's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay Final on day two of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Picture: Al Bello/Getty Images.

Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting will sponsor the Australian Olympic Team in wide-reaching partnership struck with the Australian Olympic Committee.

The partnership encompasses multiple Winter and Summer Olympic Games as well as the Youth Olympics and Pacific Games.

The agreement will see Hancock Prospecting sponsor the Australian Olympic Team competing at the upcoming Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, and the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February 2026.

The deal follows on from Mrs Rinehart’s long-running partnership with the Swimming Australia, which helped to see the Australian swim team collect a record medal haul at the Tokyo Olympics last year. Her mining company also has sponsored artistic swimming, rowing and volleyball for many years.

AOC President John Coates said the partnership will deliver significant benefits to the preparation of Australian Teams, assist athletes and develop young leaders.

“This is a major commitment to Australian sport. We welcome and thank Mrs Gina Rinehart and Hancock Prospecting for this investment. On the eve of farewelling our Team to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, the timing is perfect.

“There is no coincidence that the strong support of Gina Rinehart for many of our athletes in Tokyo yielded excellent results. There were so many golden moments and success in the pool, our rowers had a wonderful Games, as did our beach volleyballers.”

Mrs Rinehart’s sponsorship comes after she was awarded the title of Officer of the Order of Australia

“The AOC is proudly independent of government. We neither receive nor seek federal funding for our day-to-day operations. We are grateful to have the support of Mrs Gina Rinehart, Hancock Prospecting and all our partners to ensure we retain that independence,” Coates concluded.

Mrs Rinehart’s sponsorship comes after she was awarded the title of Officer of the Order of Australia in this week’s Australia Day honours for her services to the mining sector, to the community through philanthropic initiatives, and to sport as a patron.

The mining magnate said Hancock Prospecting was honoured to take the next step of supporting Australian athletes and become an official Australian Olympic Committee partner in the run up to the Brisbane Olympics in 2032.

“At Hancock we believe it is important that if there is government funding to other sporting bodies, that it be strictly applied to support the Olympians and future Olympians, their coaches and training requirements and participation in sport,” she said.

“We believe government or sponsor funds should be used to ensure sport is at the service of the community and the athletes, and much tighter scrutiny of taxpayers and sponsors funds would assist.”