Private Commonwealth Games bonus payments uncovered as Australian athletes face bans for rule break

Australian swimmers at the Commonwealth Games have been offered a suite of financial incentives as they hit the pool in Glasgow.

Billionaire Gina Rinehart is putting up $20,000 for swimmers who collect gold medals, $15,000 for silver medallists and $10,000 for bronze.

If an Australian competitor breaks a swimming world record, they will pocket a cool $30,000 from Rinehart's Commonwealth Games reward kitty, presumably after they've swapped their Speedos for garments with more storage options.

"The opportunity to compete in the green and gold is the biggest incentive in making this happen," a spokesperson for Commonwealth Games Australia told The Guardian.

"We commend Mrs. Rinehart for her support of Australian sport, it is exemplary.

"The Australian Team partner family has committed millions of dollars to deliver our team to the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. Mrs Rinehart and her companies are not Australian Team partners."

While the bonuses on offer do not contravene any Commonwealth Games regulations, Australian team members are bound by a clause in their participation agreements that prevents them from speaking about reward schemes 'not linked to official Commonwealth Games partners and sponsors' until after the end of the Games on August 2.

Commonwealth Games Australia and Swimming Australia are not involved in the bonus scheme.

Rinehart will be busy writing cheques after the closing ceremony. As Monday afternoon and evening conclude a busy opening weekend at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Australia are dominating.

Australian swimmers won 16 of the first 26 gold medals available, with a further eight silvers and 10 bronzes taking them well clear in the medal table both in the water and overall.

The men's freestyle resulted in all-Aussie podiums over both 50m and 400m. Cameron McEvoy and Sam Short have been joined on the list of gold medallists by Sam Williamson, Timothy Hodge, Alex Saffy, Mollie O'Callaghan, Lani Pallister, Iona Anderson, Jenna Forrester, Alexandria Perkins, Jenna Jones, , the women's 4 x 100m freestyle relay team and the men's 4 x 100m and 4 x 200m freestyle relay teams, as well as the mixed 4 x 100m freestyle relay team.

Cameron McEvoy runs his world record close

Although Australian swimmers have so far broken four Commonwealth records at the relocated Games, no world record has yet fallen.

McEvoy finished around half a second ahead of teammates Flynn Southam and Jamie Jack in the men's 50 metre freestyle, booking Australia's only individual Commonwealth Games record of the weekend.

The 32-year-old was chasing down his own long course world record time of 20.88 seconds, less than one-tenth faster than his Commonwealth record in Glasgow, which took down a record that had stood for 17 years and was achieved at the China Open in March.

McEvoy is the reigning Olympic and world champion over 50 metres and one of the shining lights in Rinehart's hope to spend a ton of money this summer.

"There is something very uplifting about seeing an Australian athlete stand on the podium while our flag is raised," the mining and agriculture billionaire said in a statement.