The Olympic Video games are one among, if not the, greatest sporting spectacles on the planet, however the majority of Olympic medalists is not going to be coming dwelling with any further money lining their pockets.
The Worldwide Olympic Committee doesn’t award athletes any prize cash for successful medals on the Video games, though some sports activities federations and nationwide governments can nonetheless decide to pay their Olympians primarily based on their performances.
Earlier this yr, monitor and area turned the primary Olympic sport to supply prize cash to Olympic medalists when World Athletics introduced its intentions to pay $50,000 to every particular person gold medalist.
Quite a few nations are additionally going the financial route this summer time, together with Italy, Hungary, Morocco, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Saudi Arabia, to call a number of.
Nonetheless, there are a lot of international locations that provide non-monetary rewards and incentives to their athletes who earn Olympic medals, starting from property to livestock. Here’s a (non-exhaustive) round-up of a number of the non-monetary rewards supplied to Olympic medalists by their dwelling international locations.
- Indonesia
Indonesia has been recognized to supply livestock and actual property to its Olympic medalists. In 2021, badminton gold medalists Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu have been promised 5 cows, a brand new home and a meatball restaurant, along with a money prize totaling roughly $350,000 USD. - Malaysia
In line with Malay Mail, Malaysian athletes who earn medals on the Video games can be awarded with a foreign-made automotive; the association took place after an unnamed automotive firm approached the Street to Gold Committee. - Republic of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Tradition and Sports activities will reward athletes who podium in Paris with a brand new condominium. Gold medalists can be awarded a three-room condominium, whereas silver medalists will obtain a two-room condominium and bronze medalists obtain a one-room condominium. - China
China has supplied a number of non-monetary awards to its Olympians previously. After successful gold within the air rifle in 2012, Yi Siling acquired a money award totaling over $1 million USD, a automotive price $30,000 and custom-made alcohol. Different athletes have been gifted costly new properties by actual property firms. - Austria
Straying from the theme of automobiles and actual property, Austria has one among extra distinctive awards on the record. Previously, the nation’s Olympic gold medalists have acquired over $18,000 USD price of Philharmonic cash, a well-liked bullion coin named after the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. - Iraq
Iraq has awarded its Olympic athletes with vital prizes only for qualifying for the Video games. The Iraqi soccer group and weightlifter Ali Ammar Yasser all acquired plots of land, month-to-month stipends and a reward of over $7,000 USD after punching their tickets to Paris. - South Korea
Providing a really completely different type of reward, South Korea grants navy exemption to its Olympic medalists. The nation’s regulation requires all able-bodied males to serve within the navy for 18 months, starting earlier than they flip 28, however a full waiver is permitted for athletes who win any medal on the Olympics or a gold medal on the Asian Video games.
Different non-monetary rewards over time have included rice (Japan), free flights and railway passes (India), free homes and gas (Philippines) and luxurious automobiles (Russia).
Some nations desire to not reward their Olympians in any respect, sustaining that it’s pointless and that the profound worth of the gold medal itself is price greater than a financial prize.
Nice Britain, together with international locations like Norway and Sweden amongst others, doesn’t supply any type of reward to its Olympic medalists other than the pleasure and status that comes with the achievement.
