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Côte
d'Ivoire's gold medalist in taekwondo Cheick Sallah Cisse (L) is congratulated
by Côte d'Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara on September 5, 2016 during a ceremony
at the Presidential Palace in Abidjan ©Sia Kambou (AFP)
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The Côte d'Ivoire's
president has rewarded Cheick Sallah Cisse, the country's first ever Olympic
gold medallist, with a new house and a 50 million CFA franc (€75,000, US$84,000)
cash bonus.
AFP
report continues:
Cisse,
who clinched the men's under-80kg taekwondo title with a dramatic last-second
move, was one of four Ivorian athletes competing at Rio 2016 to be honoured for
their exploits on Monday.
Ruth
Gbagbi, who won taekwondo bronze to become the first ever Ivorian woman
medallist, was also given the keys to a new home and 30 million CFA francs.
Two
track athletes were also honoured by Ivorian head of state Alassane Ouattara.
Marie-Josée
Ta Lou, who came in fourth in the women's 100m and 200m, and Ben Meite, sixth
in the men's 100m, pocketed 20 million and 10 million CFA francs respectively.
The
quartet were made officers of the National Order.
Ouattara
released funds totalling 380 million CFA francs to the West African nation's 12
athletes competing in Rio last month and their coaching staff and officials.
Before
Rio, the Côte d'Ivoire had only one medal to its name -- the men's 400m silver
picked up by Gabriel Tiacoh at the Los Angeles Games in 1984.
That
all changed when Cisse stunned third seed Lutalo Muhammad of Great Britain with
a four-point score right at the death to win 8-6.
At
the presidential presentation the athletes appealed for increased funding.
"We
were supported. The Government did what it could...but we need new laws passed
so that athletes can live off their sports," declared Cisse.
The
majority of Ivorian athletes train in difficult conditions and find it hard to
raise funds to meet their costs.
Ouattara
said he had listened to "the complaints" and said he expected
"proposals from the government" to deal with their plight.
He
had earlier recalled the 32-year wait for a medal "before our dream was realized"
and said that the medals "were a joy for every Ivorian".
"The Côte d'Ivoire is
on the map of the world in every area," he stated.
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