Three Ugandan athletes – who won medals at the Tokyo Olympics – have been rewarded with cars, a monthly salary, and a pledge to build houses for their parents.

President Yoweri Museveni had directed that every sportsperson who won a medal at the Olympics – as a well as at a continental or Commonwealth event – would earn a monthly salary of $1,400 (£1,000) for gold, $840 for silver, and $280 for bronze.

Uganda got two gold medals, a silver and bronze at the games.

Joshua Cheptegei, world record holder of the 5,000m and 10,000m race, won gold and silver, sealing his place as Uganda’s most celebrated athlete.

Peruth Chemutai became the country’s first female athlete to win gold at the Olympics.

Joshua Kiplimo won bronze in the 5,000m.

President Museveni scoffed at comments that the performance was unexpected.

“‘This is no miracle. The fact of the matter is that Uganda is uniquely endowed by both natural resources and the human resource,” he said at a ceremony in the capital, Kampala.