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, 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]
2021: 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.
2024: As a reward for their achievements, the gold medal winners receive Philharmonic coins worth €20,000. Bronze medalists received €14,000 each.
€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.
₮120,000,000, ₮60,000,000 and ₮30,000,000 for gold, silver and bronze, respectively. Additional monthly payment of ₮4,000,000 ($1,176), ₮3,000,000 ($882) and ₮2,000,000 ($588) for gold, silver and bronze, respectively for the rest of life.
€30,000 for gold, €22,500 for silver and €15,000 for bronze in the individual sports. For team sports, a minimum of €11,000 for gold, €8,000 for silver and €5,000 for bronze, all dependent on the number of team members.
For Gold and Silver Medalists an apartament in Capital of Poland. For any medalist, a monthly payment after reaching 40th birthday of $1,083 for the rest of life.
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.
The prizes for gold, silver, and bronze are €140,000, €112,000, and €84,000, respectively, while the 4th, 5th, and 6th place winners receive €56,000, €42,000, and €28,000, respectively. In addition, Olympic medalists are entitled to a lifetime monthly payment, calculated as up to 1.5 times the gross average salary after retirement[31]
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.
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.[45] The layout programme's name was changed to Major Games Award Programme (MAP) in 2018.[46]
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.[47]
The money, however, is taxable and the medal winner is obligated to share half of the prize money to the sport they are representing.
Medal
Standard reward
Gold
S$1,000,000
Silver
S$500,000
Bronze
S$250,000
Philippines
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).[48][49][50]
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.[48]
