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Money for medals: Countries give their Olympians cash bonuses for winning

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Standing on the podium with an Olympic medal is one of the highest honors for an athlete.

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

But is the medal their only reward?

KELLY: Well, in most countries, the answer is no. Many of the winning athletes receive a hefty financial bonus as well. The amount? Well, that depends.

CHANG: According to the National Olympic Committee, this year the U.S. will pay a bonus of about $37,000 for each gold medal winner, around 22,000 for silver and around 15,000 for bronze. I mean, that's not bad, right?

KELLY: I would take it. However, other countries pay even more. Gold medal winners from Morocco, Malaysia and Serbia get more than $200,000 each.

CHANG: Whoa.

KELLY: Yeah. And for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Singapore said it would pay an athlete - wait for it - $1 million for the gold. However...

CHANG: Oh, my God.

KELLY: I know, but no takers.

CHANG: Well, the U.S. payout may seem low in comparison, but there's a reason for that. The U.S. dishes out more bonuses because the team usually wins more medals. In the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the U.S. took home a total of 113 medals.

KELLY: That is a lot of bonuses.

CHANG: Oh, yeah.

KELLY: But then, yeah, there's Poland. According to a spokesperson for the Polish Olympic Committee, if you win a medal, you get a monetary bonus, a high-quality diamond, vacation voucher for two and a painting. And on top of all of that, if they win the gold, they also get a free two-bedroom apartment.

CHANG: Whoa - a place to hang the painting, I guess.

KELLY: (Laughter) There you go.

(SOUNDBITE OF VANGELIS' "CHARIOTS OF FIRE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Jonas Adams
Jonas Adams is the director of All Things Considered.
Jeanette Woods
[Copyright 2024 NPR]