I just discovered that not only do most athletes take home medals and fame, but also cash! Many countries, with the notable exceptions of the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden and Croatia, pay their winners a monetary bonus! The United States Olympic Committee pays US athletes $25,000 for each gold medal, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze. So Michael Phelps took home a cool $140,000 (before taxes) along with his 5 gold medals plus 1 silver!
Don't get me wrong, I think this is a good thing. After all, Olympians train long and hard and for most, that training with world-renown coaches usually comes with a hefty price tag. The leotards for the USA Women's Gymnastic Team were bedazzled with close to 5,000 Swarovski crystals and cost $1,200 each. Each female gymnast's Olympic wardrobe contained 12 practice leotards and 8 custom-made competition leotards costing over $12,000!
However, the bonus to US Olympians is peanuts compared to some other countries. France, South Korea, Japan and China pay about $36,000 for gold, while Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Russia and host country Brazil, pay between $250,000 to $350,000. Some countries award other perks, such as luxury apartments or national holidays and monuments named after them.
According to CNN, Swimmer Joseph Schooling, who won Singapore's first-ever Olympic gold medal pocketed $746,000 from Singapore's National Olympics Council program to reward athletes for medals.
But, the athlete walking away with the biggest paycheck for a single gold medal doesn't even come from an official country. Taiwanese woman weightlifter Hsu Shu-ching, who competed under the banner of Chinese-Taipei, is being rewarded with $952,000 by Taiwan's Ministry of Education and the island's Olympic Committee.
So, nurture those aspirations, cheer them on and provide the best training you can afford. But if it looks like they might actually make the team, I hear Taiwan is a nice place to live!
So, nurture those aspirations, cheer them on and provide the best training you can afford. But if it looks like they might actually make the team, I hear Taiwan is a nice place to live!
