This article details standard incentives given to Olympic athletes for winning a medal either by their National Olympic Committee, the government of their country/territory, or both.
While the International Olympic Committee itself does not provide monetary rewards to Olympic medalists, many countries provide prize money to athletes for winning a medal at the Olympics.[1][2] In countries such as Singapore and India elite sport enjoys heavy government involvement, and athletes are given high monetary rewards for winning Olympic medals as a means to promote a positive image of those nations on the international stage.[3]
According to Forbes, only Great Britain, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden do not provide direct monetary incentives to their athletes for winning an Olympic medal (as of the 2020 Summer Olympics), although indirect funding is extensive.[4]
Countries | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|
Australia | $20,000 | $15,000 | $10,000 | [1] |
Austria | $18,296 | $14,000 | $11,838 | As a reward for their achievements, the gold medal winners receive Philharmonic coins worth 17,000€. Silver medalists received 13,000€, bronze medalists received 11,000€ each.[5] |
Azerbaijan | $235,000 | $117,500 | $58,750 | AZN 400,000, AZN 200,000 and AZN 100,000, for gold, silver and bronze, respectively, as of the 2016 Rio Olympics.[6] |
Brazil | $49,000 | $29,000 | $20,000 | [1] |
Bulgaria | $91,008 | $72,806 | $54,605 | [1] |
Canada | $16,000 | $12,000 | $8,000 | CAD $20,000, CAD $15,000 and CAD $10,000, for gold, silver and bronze, respectively.[7][8] |
Denmark | $15,962 | $11,971 | $7,981 | [1] |
Estonia | $117,500 | $82,250 | $52,875 | €100,000, €70,000 and €45,000, for gold, silver and bronze, respectively. Prize money is doubled in the case a medal is won by a team of four or more individuals.[9] |
Finland | $59,342 | $35,605 | $23,737 | [1] |
France | $86,670 | $43,335 | $21,667 | €80,000 / €40,000 / €20,000[10] |
Germany | $22,000 | $17,000 | $11,000 | [11] |
Great Britain | $0 | $0 | $0 | Annual stipend of $36,000 to each athlete.[11] |
Hong Kong | $642,500 | $321,250 | $160,625 | HK$5,000,000, HK$2,500,000 and HK$1,250,000, for gold, silver and bronze, respectively.[12] |
Hungary | $168,000 | $126,000 | $96,000 | [citation needed] |
Indonesia | $346,000 | $138,500 | $69,250 | Rp 5 billion, Rp 2 billion and Rp 1 billion, for gold, silver and bronze, respectively.[13] |
Italy | $213,000 | $107,000 | $71,000 | [1] |
Japan | $45,000 | $18,000 | $9,000 | [1] |
Kazakhstan | $250,000 | $150,000 | $75,000 | [14] |
Kosovo | $118,683 | $71,210 | $47,473 | [1] |
Liechtenstein | $27,602 | $22,082 | $16,561 | [1] |
Lithuania | $144,793 | $72,397 | $54,238 | [1] |
Malaysia | $236,000 | $71,000 | $24,000 | Additional lifetime monthly salary of 5,000, 3,000 and 2,000 ringgit, for gold, silver and bronze, respectively. |
Morocco | $225,067 | $140,667 | $84,400 | [1] |
New Zealand | $0 | $0 | $0 | [4] |
Norway | $0 | $0 | $0 | [4] |
Philippines | $200,000 | $100,000 | $40,000 | ₱10,000,000, ₱5,000,000 and ₱2,000,000, for gold, silver and bronze, respectively.[13][15] |
Russia | $61,000 | $38,000 | $26,000 | Medal winners have historically been gifted expensive premium cars valued at $50,000 to $200,000 USD and luxury apartments valued at $500,000 to $1,000,000 in addition to separate payouts from national federations and regional governments. That tradition stretches back to the Soviet era.[16][17][18] |
Serbia | $71,210 | $59,342 | $47,473 | [1] |
Singapore | $737,000 | $369,000 | $184,000 | S$1,000,000, S$500,000 and S$250,000, for gold, silver and bronze, respectively.[19] |
Slovakia | $59,342 | $47,473 | $35,605 | Athletes also get rewards for placings up to 8th place - 20 000€, 15 000€, 10 000€, 8 000€ and 6 000€. For team sports, individual athletes get rewards up to 6th place - 15 000€(gold), 13 000€(silver), 11 000€(bronze), 9 000€, 6 000€ and 4 000€ per athlete. [20] |
Slovenia | $23,737 | $20,770 | $17,802 | [1] |
South Africa | $37,000 | $19,000 | $7,000 | [citation needed] |
South Korea | $54,767 | $30,426 | $21,733 | [1] |
Spain | $111,562 | $56,968 | $35,605 | [1] |
Sweden | $0 | $0 | $0 | [4] |
Switzerland | $44,171 | $33,129 | $22,086 | [1] |
Chinese Taipei | $720,000 | $251,000 | $178,000 | NT$20,000,000, NT$7,000,000 and NT$5,000,000, for gold, silver and bronze, respectively.[21][22] |
Thailand | $365,150 | $219,090 | $146,060 | THB12,000,000, THB7,200,000 and THB4,800,000, for gold, silver and bronze, respectively.[23][24] |
United States | $37,500 | $22,500 | $15,000 | As of the 2024 Summer Olympics. Unlike other countries, the United States does not provide any funding for its elite sports nor for the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.[25][26] |
In the 1990s, the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) under President Yeo Ning Hong instituted the Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme (MAP), an incentive scheme to reward athletes who win medals in major international tournaments, including the Olympics, for Singapore.[27] The programme's name was changed to Major Games Award Programme (MAP) in 2018.[28]
The largest prize money under the MAP is for athletes who clinch an Olympic gold medal. Those athletes who win multiple Olympic gold medals are entitled to more than S$1 million only for the first individual gold medal won at the Games.[29]
The money, however, is taxable and the medal winner is obligated to make a donation back into the sport they are representing.
Medal | Standard reward |
---|---|
Gold | S$1,000,000 |
Silver | S$500,000 |
Bronze | S$250,000 |
Coaches of Filipino citizenship who personally trained medal-winning Filipino Olympians are also entitled to prize money (50% of the cash incentives for gold, silver and bronze medalists).[30][31][32]
Medal | Standard reward |
---|---|
Gold | ₱10 million |
Silver | ₱5 million |
Bronze | ₱2 million |
Prior to the RA 10699, standard government incentives were codified under the RA 9064 or the National Athletes, Coaches and Trainers Benefits and Incentives Act of 2001, which mandates a prize money of ₱5 million for Olympic gold medalists, ₱2.5 million for silver medalists and ₱1 million for bronze medalists.[30]