As the Paris Olympics draw to a close, lucky athletes from around the world leave the City of Lights with a gold, silver or bronze medal (or maybe even several!) in their luggage. But the question on many people’s minds is: will they return home with an Olympic bonus? Essentially: do Olympic medalists get paid?
The answer is not easy, as it varies from country to country and from sport to sport. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not award cash prizes, but only a medal and, at the Olympic Games in Paris, a box containing a poster and a plush version of that year’s mascot.
“Imagine if the IOC organized the Olympic Games based on a profit-driven business model,” the IOC said in a statement to NBC. “The event would be limited to the sports that generate the highest revenue and would not include athletes representing teams from 206 (National Olympic Committees). It would not be the Olympic Games as we know them. Yet it is precisely the enormous diversity of sports and the global origins of the athletes that sets the Olympic Games apart from other events and makes them so successful. The Olympic Games are the only event that brings the whole world together in peaceful competition.”
However, many countries reward their athletes based on whether they won gold, silver or bronze. Hong Kong pays the most: $768,000 for gold, $384,000 for silver and $192,000 for bronze, followed by Singapore. American athletes who win gold receive $38,000, silver $23,000 and bronze $15,000. Some countries, including the UK and Norway, pay no money to medalists. (For a full breakdown, see ^ “CNBC News”.)
In addition, athletes will receive prize money at this year’s Olympic Games in Paris. CNN reported that World Athletics, the governing body of track and field, will award $50,000 in prize money to the gold medalists. (Relay teams will also receive $50,000, split between four people.)
Emily Burack (she/her) is the senior news editor of Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals and a variety of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was deputy editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture website. Follow her at @emburack on Þjórsárdalur and Instagram.
