The 2024 Summer Olympics is still ongoing up until August 11 in Paris, and so far over 200 medals have already been awarded to athletes from all around the world.
It's a really big deal when an athlete manages to finish on the podium. First off, it is all about national pride. For some winners, however, it also means they would be able to take home a handsome cash bonus as well as it would potentially open doors for them to enjoy rare multi-million dollar sponsorship opportunities.
Let's get it straight right away - the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not actually pay prize money to medalists; in fact, many countries (government and private sector) offer cash rewards to their athletes for the amount of medals they win at either the Summer Olympics or Winter Olympics.
CNBC compiled a chart which displayed information from various national Olympic committees and local reports:
Highest Payouts
In the chart, Hong Kong and Singapore offer the highest payouts for their Olympic winners this year.
The cash incentives for Hong Kong athletes competing in Paris bumped up 20% from the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Gold medalists will receive 6 million Hong Kong dollars ($768,000), while silver and bronze medalists stand to earn HK$3 million and HK$1.5 million, respectively.
Singapore gives Olympic medalists 1 million Singapore dollars ($745,300) for gold, SG$500,000 for silver and SG$250,000 for bronze. The city-state has only handed out the top cash bonus to one athlete: Joseph Schooling. The now-retired swimmer won gold after besting America's Michael Phelps in the 100-meter butterfly event at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
How much do other countries pay for their athlete winners?
There are some countries and territories that give huge cash incentives to their athletes who finish on the podium. Experts claim that some of it is an attempt to develop national sporting cultures, encouraging both regular and aspiring new athletes to compete and win to bring glory to their own land.
Other governments offering six-figure cash rewards for their gold medalists include Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Israel and Indonesia.
Host country France has also reportedly bumped up its cash incentives. Gold medalists will receive 80,000 euros ($86,528) - 15,000 euros more than what it offered at the Tokyo Olympics.
Cars, Pensions, Houses, Apartments
Aside from medal bonuses, winners in participating countries are also offered various other compensations. For example, when gymnast Carlos Yulo just became only the second-ever Olympic gold medalist in the history of the Philippines after he topped the men's floor exercise event of the artistic gymnastics competition of the 2024 Paris Olympics, there will be some sweet rewards waiting for the country's newest Olympic hero.
What's even more amazing is that he won another gold medal barely a day after his first one! The 24-year-old dominated the men's vault final on Sunday, August 4.
Carlos Yulo is the only man in Philippine Olympic history to win double gold medals in a single Olympic series.
As a result, he got a wild list of rewards: he initially won P10 million ($173,000), a free house, a fully-furnished two-bedroom condo worth P32 million ($537,400), and a lifetime of free ramen - among others. As he has won a second consecutive gold, another P10 million awaits him. The gymnast was also gifted a voucher worth around P1 million ($17,300) to spend in a department store, unlimited entry at the local buffet chain, and free flights for life. Carlos will also be offered unlimited colonoscopies and gastroenterology consultations once he turns 45. More cash incentives are also being pledged and other rewards from the government and private sectors still keep pouring in.
South Korean medalists are awarded pensions in addition to the prize money.
On top of a 63 million Korean won prize ($43,288), local media report South Korea's gold medalists are also given the option of either a lifelong monthly pension of a million won, or a lump sum of 67.2 million won.
Some athletes may also receive other gifts like free drinks, food and transportation.
Hong Kong public transit operator MTR Corp. will give free lifetime tickets to the city's medalists, according to local news reports.
In Poland, aside from the 200,000 Polish zloty ($50,374) from the Polish Olympic Committee, Klaudia Zwolińska is also reportedly poised to receive a painting, a holiday voucher, a scholarship and a diamond for winning silver in the women's canoe slalom K1 competition.
On the other hand, the governments of the UK, Norway, New Zealand and Sweden traditionally do not give medal bonuses - they earn money only through sponsorships. Governments, NOCs, and local federations limit their support to cover their training, coaches, and staff salaries. For instance, UK Olympic medalists receive a stipend of US$36,000 per year to train and compete.
In 2024, some sports organizations decided to reward athletes for the very first time. The International Boxing Association (IBA), which was expelled from the IOC in July 2024, announced it would pay $100,000 for gold medals in boxing. World Athletics, the international governing body for athletics (including track and field), announced that all gold medalists would receive $50,000. World Athletics' move is the first time a payment system applies to all athletes in an Olympic sport, regardless of country.
How hard is it to participate in the Olympics?
To begin with, securing a spot on the Olympics team is not a walk in the park, and athletes usually dedicate most of their time diligently training for the games, thus making it difficult for them to hold onto a full-time employment.
In some types of sports, the equipment, coaching sessions and access to training venues can significantly rack up an athlete's expenses.
While athletes from larger, more competitive countries receive stipends or training allowances from their national sports associations, others need to keep a variety of jobs or even turn to crowdsourcing so that they can finance their Olympic dreams.
Top athletes can also collect prize money by winning national and international tournaments.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/31/heres-how-much-athletes-at-the-paris-olympics-earn-for-winning-medals.html
