As hundreds of Olympic athletes vie for a spot on the rostrum in Paris, some who end on high can be going dwelling with extra than simply gold.
Whereas the Olympics rewards its champions with immense glory and a spot in sporting historical past, historically absent are the flashy big checks that different competitions hand out.
However that doesn’t imply Olympic medalists gained’t make any cash.
Whereas the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) doesn’t monetarily award winners, it doesn’t cease nationwide governments or organizations, or sports activities federations, from incentivizing athletes with money or different prizes. And this 12 months, some federations have made the groundbreaking determination to do exactly that on the Paris Video games.
World Athletics, the worldwide governing physique for monitor and discipline, introduced in April that Olympic gold medalists in monitor and discipline occasions will obtain a reward of $50,000—the primary of its form for a sports activities federation. And in Might, the Worldwide Boxing Affiliation—which was stripped of recognition by the IOC final 12 months as a consequence of monetary and governance considerations—stated it will provide $100,000 to boxing gold medalists, “setting a transparent instance for a lot of on how worldwide federations needs to be treating their champions.”
The bulletins have proved controversial. Different federations have claimed such a transfer “undermines the values of Olympism” and is unfair to sports activities that may’t afford to supply prize cash. The IOC has argued that the federations needs to be specializing in decreasing inequality inside their sport as a substitute of elevating their winners. In the meantime, sporting our bodies and athletes have defended the deserves of rewarding one of the best performers—who drive publicity and income for the Olympics and for his or her respective sports activities—and have known as for extra money to be handed to the winners throughout all of the Olympic occasions.
“Whereas it’s not possible to place a marketable worth on profitable an Olympic medal, or on the dedication and focus it takes to even symbolize your nation at an Olympic Video games,” stated World Athletics president Sebastian Coe in April, “I believe it is crucial we begin someplace and ensure a number of the revenues generated by our athletes on the Olympic Video games are straight returned to those that make the Video games the worldwide spectacle that it’s.”
Except for the choose federations that may pay their champions, some nations additionally bestow bonuses on those that carry dwelling medals—although the prizes on provide can differ tremendously. Listed here are some rewards Olympic winners can reap:
Money
In what might be the only largest payout for an Olympic medal, Saudi authorities awarded karate athlete Tareg Hamedi 5 million riyal (about $1.33 million) after he narrowly missed the gold—settling for silver after being disqualified over an unlawful kick—on the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Different rich gulf states like Bahrain and Qatar, which have a historical past of poaching international athletes with profitable offers, are additionally recognized for providing hefty rewards in alternate for sporting medals. In 2005, Qatar famously provided high South African swimmer Roland Schoeman a multimillion-dollar contract, together with a a million rand (over $50,000) bonus for each Olympic medal or world title gained—although Schoeman finally rejected the provide.
Hong Kong’s gold medalists on the Paris Olympics, if there are any, will get among the many largest money reward on provide: HK$6 million (over $750,000), as a part of town’s Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme, sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Membership, town’s official betting organizer.
Equally, Singapore, via its Main Video games Award Programme that’s largely sponsored by the nationwide lottery board, presents S$1 million (over $700,000) for particular person winners, S$1.5 million for winners of workforce occasions (like athletics relays or tennis doubles), and S$2 million for winners of workforce sports activities (like basketball or soccer). It additionally provides 50% of the aforementioned quantities to silver medalists and 25% to bronze medalists. To date, nonetheless, just one Singaporean has ever managed to assert the highest prize: swimmer Joseph Education, who grew to become the city-state’s first and solely gold medalist after profitable the 100 meter butterfly on the Rio 2016 Olympics.
In the meantime, Taiwan’s Olympic gold medalists, beneath a authorities medal program, obtain NT$20 million (over $600,000) and a lifetime month-to-month stipend of NT$125,000 (about $4,000).
Different governments which have provided (or pledged to supply) their Olympic champions six-figure money rewards embrace: Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Morocco, Italy, the Philippines, Hungary, Kosovo, Estonia, and Egypt.
In some circumstances, athletes get rewards from each their governments and nationwide sports activities organizations. The Indian authorities presents Olympic gold medalists 7.5 million rupees (about $90,000), whereas the Indian Olympic Affiliation individually rewards them with 10 million rupees (about $120,000).
Underneath the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee committee’s Operation Gold program, Olympic gold medalists obtain $37,500, whereas silver and bronze medalists obtain $22,500 and $15,000, respectively. Nationwide sports activities organizations even have their very own packages to reward athletes, with USA Wrestling’s Dwelling The Dream Medal Fund providing $250,000 for Olympic gold medals and USA Swimming providing $75,000 for a similar.
Vehicles, homes, even cows
In some nations, usually along with money, lavish rewards are bequeathed upon profitable athletes, from luxurious vehicles to flats.
Malaysian authorities have promised their athletes foreign-made vehicles if they bring about dwelling medals from Paris, whereas in Kazakhstan, Olympic winners are legally entitled to flats—the scale of which can differ based on their medal coloration.
After Chinese language sport shooter Yi Siling gained gold within the air rifle occasion on the London 2012 Olympics, authorities of Guangdong province, the place she resided, reportedly gave her a money reward of seven.65 million yuan (over $1 million), together with a automobile value $30,000 and customized made alcohol. Different Chinese language athletes, based on native media, have acquired costly new properties from actual property firms.
When Indonesian badminton gold medallists Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu returned dwelling after the Tokyo Olympics, moreover the money reward from the Indonesian authorities, native authorities and entrepreneurs additionally showered the pair with presents together with cows, a home, and even their very own meatball restaurant.
Austria’s Olympic gold medalists, in the meantime, have beforehand acquired €17,000 (over $18,000) value of Philharmonic cash, a preferred bullion coin named after the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra.
In Russia, Olympic champions are sometimes given 4 million rubles ($45,300), together with costly international vehicles, flats, honorary titles, and lifelong stipends. Victory on the Olympics additionally usually interprets to extra immaterial types of success, with many high-profile athletes—corresponding to wrestler Aleksandr Karelin, determine skater Irina Rodnina, and gymnast Svetlana Khorkina—embarking on careers in politics after retiring from sports activities.
“In our nation, success on the Olympics is a direct path to the State Duma and energy,” reads a 2016 article in Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda.
In some circumstances, simply qualifying for the Olympics is sufficient trigger for compensation: the Iraqi soccer workforce and weightlifter Ali Ammar Yasser acquired plots of land, month-to-month stipends, and a reward of 10 million Iraqi dinars (over $7,000) every after securing their spots in Paris.
Nothing—moreover pleasure
The U.Ok., together with nations like Norway and Sweden, doesn’t provide any money reward to its Olympic medalists.
Whereas some athletes have made clear that they suppose they need to be paid, others suppose it’s pointless.
“All these gold medalists in athletics are able to incomes vital cash earlier than and definitely after Paris,” British Olympic champion rower Sir Steve Redgrave informed BBC after the information of World Athletics providing money to winners, “so that you’re giving cash to individuals who have already got it.”
In the meantime, Norwegian Olympic champion hurdler Karsten Warholm, who applauded World Athletics for its transfer, emphasised that the worth of victory within the Olympics is usually extra profound than any pecuniary prize: “It doesn’t change my motivation to win as a result of for the Olympics I’m not in it for the cash,” he informed Reuters. “The gold medal is value much more to me personally.”
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