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Winning an Olympic medal has got to be worth a lot of money, right? Wrong.
In fact, athletes get no money at all from the International Olympic Committee that puts on the Games. Instead, they get the medal, a Paris Olympics mascot stuffed toy, and a box containing the official event poster.
Yet countries do offer their own financial rewards for winning medals.
Hong Kong and Singapore offer some of the highest financial rewards for Olympics victors. Hong Kong has increased its cash incentives by 20 percent compared to the Tokyo Summer Olympics, to $768,000, the chief secretary for administration, Chan Kwok-ki, announced in early July.
Singapore also offers substantial rewards, with gold medalists receiving about $745,300, silver medalists $373,000, and bronze medalists $186,000, CNBC reports. Only one athlete, Joseph Schooling, has received the top cash bonus so far — for his gold medal win in the 100-meter butterfly at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
America is comparatively quite low, with gold medalists receiving $38,000, silver $23,000, and bronze $15,000.
Other countries also provide significantly more cash incentives for their athletes. Israel is offering about $270,537 for a gold medal, marking a 50 percent increase from the Tokyo Games. France, the host country, has raised its gold medal prize to $86,528.
Germany extends rewards beyond the podium, offering cash prizes to athletes finishing up to eighth place, with gold medalists receiving $22,000. India’s athletes are rewarded by both the government and the national sports body, with gold medalists receiving $210,000.
South Korea awards its medalists with both prize money and pensions. Gold medalists receive $43,288, along with a choice between a lifelong monthly pension or a lump-sum payment.
In addition to cash, some athletes receive unique rewards. Hong Kong’s public transit operator, MTR Corporation, offers free lifetime tickets to the city’s medalists. Poland’s Klaudia Zwolińska is set to receive $50,374 from the Polish Olympic Committee, along with a painting, a holiday voucher, a scholarship, and a diamond for her silver medal in canoe slalom.
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