What Olympians get paid when they win gold
Most Olympians earn nothing for Olympic competition
WITH Wayde van Niekerk stealing the South African limelight at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio, one question that pops into everyone’s mind is how much money do Olympic athletes get paid for winning a medal?
After all, training for the Olympics (never mind competing) is at least a full-time job.
Most Olympians earn nothing for Olympic competition.
Many countries’ Olympic teams, including the United States, provide travel expenses to Olympic competitors, but even these funds don’t come directly from the government, rather a pool of private and corporate donors.
The only direct income a few Olympians receive for their competition is from corporate sponsorships.
For an A-list Olympian like Michael Phelps, that means plenty of income to support himself while he trains and competes from companies like Speedo.
And, in addition to regular sponsorships, the swimwear outfit paid Phelps $1 million in 2008 for breaking the record for seven gold medals in a single Olympics. He used the money to start a charity.
Usain Bolt made 2-million USD in one year from winnings and endorsements.
So how much do less famous competitors get paid?
All US athletes can earn a ‘medal bonus’ from the US Olympic committee for each medal won.
The Committee pays American medal winners $25 000 for gold, $15 000 for silver, and $10 000 for bronze medals.
2016 Olympic medal bonuses
Singapore – 741 000 USD gold, 371 000 USD silver and 185 000 USD bronze.
Indonesia – 381 000 USD, 152 000 USD and 76 000 USD.
Kazakhstan – 250 000 USD, 150 000 USD and 75 000 USD.
Azerbaijan – 248 000 USD, 124 000 USD and 62 000 USD.
Italy – 166 000 USD, 83 000 USD and 55 000 USD.
Hungary – 125 000 USD, 89 000 USD and 71 000 USD.
Russia – 61 000 USD, 38 000 USD and 26 000 USD.
France – 55 000 USD, 22 000 USD and 14 000 USD.
South Africa – 37 000 USD, 19 000 USD and 7 000 USD.
Germany – 22 000 USD, 17 000 USD and 11 000 USD.
Canada – 15 000 USD, 11 000 USD and 8 000 USD.
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