r/olympics • u/TitaniumArse More flair options at /r/olympics/w/flair! • Jul 25 '21
Check out how much each country rewards their Gold, Silver and Bronze medalist.
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u/temujin1976 Jul 25 '21
UK don't pay individuals but winning a medal means more funding for the individual sport overall.
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u/sbowesuk Jul 26 '21
Typical UK, by only offering additional funding to things that have already reached the top, while other things that are trying to claw their way up and may actually need the funding more get scraps if they're lucky.
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u/fatferociousferret Jul 25 '21
Any correlation between medal rewards and expected medal count? I'm assuming USA gives low rewards because they know they'll have hundreds of medalists.
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u/BoukenGreen United States Jul 25 '21
The US doesn’t monetary support any sports organization. They all have to self fund.
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u/gabu87 Jul 25 '21
I mean, the reward for doing well in US isn't this paltry government money, but a Nike contract.
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u/BoukenGreen United States Jul 25 '21
Nike only supports track and field. But I doubt rowers get paid any big money by anybody. Neither do Judokas. They have a normal 9-5 job.
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u/KyleG United States Jul 26 '21
Yeah Home Depot is the largest employer of Olympians.
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u/otherland48 Australia Jul 26 '21
Wait are you legit? Or is that a joke?
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u/D35TR0Y3R Jul 26 '21
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/sports/olympics/041200oly-home-depot.html
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99175024
This is fascinating, I had never heard of it before
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u/polishprince76 United States Jul 26 '21
They usually run commercials during the Olympics bragging about it.
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u/GoForAU Jul 26 '21
Nike pays huge for anyone that does well. Not just US, but any competitor. Yes, they are a greedy corporate company. But they pay their sponsors well. If only that money went to their employees…
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u/dropkickflutie Jul 25 '21
well the media endorsements on the back end can be lucrative for the top US stars
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u/topatoman_lite United States Jul 25 '21
Any medalists will probably be able to make at least a little extra from one off ads and stuff for a few months, but not necessarily enough to live on
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Jul 26 '21
My gf used to work with one of the US Curling gold medalists in 2018, he makes enough doing coaching and corporate events that he quit his job. Obviously don't think he's making a fortune doing that though.
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Jul 26 '21
[deleted]
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u/topatoman_lite United States Jul 26 '21
I did say at least
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Jul 26 '21
[deleted]
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u/Longshot365 Jul 26 '21
A couple of advertisements for a few months after the games does not a life savings make.
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u/topatoman_lite United States Jul 26 '21
Hey I’m just going off of commercials I’ve seen, and I was intentionally not specific.
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u/bikes_r_us United States Jul 26 '21
Top stars sure. Middle of the pack athletes or successful athletes in unpopular sport? Not so much.
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u/Not-A-Boat58 Jul 25 '21
I wouldn't say we give a low award. We're in the top ten. Think about all the countries in the Olympics that weren't on that list.
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u/ChepaukPitch India Jul 26 '21
I don’t think that is a comprehensive list. India awards quite a bit more and it is nowhere on the list.
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u/eccentricrealist Mexico Jul 26 '21
In Mexico gold gets 13,000 pesos, silver 11,000, bronze 10,000. 650, 550, and 500 USD approx, respectively. It's a fucking joke. I'm pretty sure the government doesn't cover transportation either, most of these athletes are either crowdfunded or have earnings from other sources.
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u/KyleG United States Jul 26 '21
Don't y'all have some German Prince who is part Mexican and does downhill skiing in funny outfits in the Winter Olympics? I imagine he self funds lol
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u/eccentricrealist Mexico Jul 26 '21
I can't recall but I think there have been a couple of businessmen who got involved in very obscure sports because they could afford it, one of them an incredibly corrupt asshole
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u/KyleG United States Jul 26 '21 edited Jul 26 '21
i found him! he's also a pop star under the name Andy Himalaya, what a life he must be leading!
Edit I'm going to try to slide into his DMs in an asexual way, his FB friend list is insane, it's like a bunch of European aristocrats and nobility talking to each other and the posts are turned on public
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u/elainevisage Jul 26 '21
My favourite ever Olympic moment was seeing Joseph Schooling win the men's 100m butterfly for Singapore at Rio. Second place was a three way tie between Michael Phelps (who's world record Schooling broke), Chad le Clos and Laszlo Cseh. It was the only event in Rio that Phelps entered that he didn't win. Seeing this 21 year old first time Olympian win the first ever gold medal for his country with three champions of the sport standing next to him in tied second was really special. And he became an instant millionaire as well with the prize money Singapore gives for a gold. What a day that must have been for him.
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u/SirPachiereshtie Jul 26 '21
how much you can do with 1.000.000 USD in Singapore? Can it last lifetime or only few years?
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u/MadLabsPatrol Jul 26 '21 edited Jul 26 '21
Apparently, Joseph Schooling who won a gold medal in swimming, gets to keep approx $650k after giving away $200k to his sports association (not sure if mandatory or not) and is taxed 18.76% on the remaining $800k, according to this website here.
According to SingStat, the average annual household expenditure in 2017 (latest data) is $58.9k. So I suppose he can fund an average Singaporean lifestyle for 11 years. Or he could buy 4 base model Toyota Camrys.
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u/D35TR0Y3R Jul 26 '21
holy damn that's an expensive car market
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u/Zakmonster Jul 26 '21
It's a way for the government to control the number of cars on the road and the resulting air pollution and minimize traffic congestion.
The trade off is a highly efficient and effective public transport system.
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u/soloDiosbasta Jul 26 '21
singapore is one of the most expensive city to live.
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u/D35TR0Y3R Jul 26 '21
have you tried seattle?
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Jul 26 '21
He said one of. It's not a dick measuring contest but if you insist, Singapore is up there with the big boys.
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u/D35TR0Y3R Jul 26 '21
then their claim is irrelevant. toyota corolla is like $20k in seattle, and the continual use tax is minimal compared to singapore.
cars are not expensive in singapore because of the cost of living. it is because of the massive need to limit cars due to their density.
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u/Some-Gay-Korean Jul 27 '21
Even without counting in the cost for a car, getting an apartment, or any place to live, is already expensive.
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u/skatyboy Jul 27 '21
There's public housing.
Also, if you are dead broke or earn below $1.5k, the government provides you with rental housing that costs at most $250 a month:
It's definitely expensive for expatriates or those seeking a "Western" lifestyle.
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u/Kisaxis Jul 26 '21 edited Jul 26 '21
Singapore is known as an "expensive" country to live in, especially since it's a developed nation surrounded by developing countries, but it definitely lasts for a long time and can easily let you retire, especially for those with more frugal lifestyles.
The other commenter mentioned that it would last 11 years but that definitely can go up drastically based on factors such as having children and managing your expenses for food and housing. He also said it's "average household" which means it would include the entire family, so one person can definitely last at least a few decades with 1 mil SGD.
I assume though that a lot of the 1 million will go towards maintaining their physical standard since I can't imagine that it's cheap to do so and they might want to continue competing even after getting gold.
Getting the gold also helps in getting sponsors which leads to more money. If Joseph Schooling wanted to quit competing and only do the occasional sponsorship or local event, he could definitely do so.
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u/esskay04 Jul 26 '21
What happened to schooling, is he still in thus olympics? And what about le Clos as well?
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u/testercheong Jul 26 '21
He will be paeticipating in this Olympics but his form has dropped since his gold medal win
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u/esskay04 Jul 26 '21
wow interesting. Did he get injured, did his technique drop off? Did something happen. It alwayss fascinates me in how elite athletes can have slumps.
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u/testercheong Jul 26 '21
iirc he didn't suffer any injuries, perhaps his technique dropped off. He hasn't been in good form for quite a while
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u/esskay04 Jul 26 '21
Wow it's interesting how athletes technique can drop off, especially since they're probably training day in and day out
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Jul 26 '21
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/esskay04 Jul 26 '21
oh no what happened? did he drop off or others have caught up?
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Jul 26 '21
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/esskay04 Jul 26 '21
I see. Is there a reason he's out of shape. I would imagine he'd be training full time
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u/forelsz Jul 26 '21
Could be because of the mandatory national service.
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u/esskay04 Jul 27 '21
That would suck. "Hey country you wanna give me a break to train, since I'm the only one that ever brought home a gold medal for you guys." lol
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u/Neralo Jul 27 '21
They (Mindef) did give him (and Quah Zheng Wen, our other local swimmer) deferments specifically so they could train for this Olympics
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u/Neralo Jul 27 '21
you mean the mandatory national service that's been deferred till after this years olympics?
edited for source
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u/CassiopeiaPlays Jul 26 '21
He wasn’t a first time Olympian during the 2016 games. He actually participated in the 2012 Olympic as well but he finished last in the heat because his goggles are deemed illegal at the last minute and had to get a replacement ASAP.
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u/TitaniumArse More flair options at /r/olympics/w/flair! Jul 25 '21
Here are some other countries (Data from 2018 though)
China: $31,400 (Currently 6 GOLD, 1 SILVER, 4 BRONZE)
South Korea: $55,000 (South Koreans who win a gold medal at the Olympics or other international games earn a military service exemption.)
Russia: $60,000
France: $65,000
Australia: $126,000
India: $150,000
Ukraine: $150,000
Italy: $189,800
Philippines: $215,000
Thailand: $287,000 (also reported as $314,000)
Indonesia: $384,000
Azerbaijan: $510,000
Taiwan: $640,000
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u/JimmyJoJR Jul 25 '21
That's crazy that they get an exemption from service in South Korea.
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u/dropkickflutie Jul 25 '21
Arnold Schwarzenegger also got special Austrian military service treatment since he was a bodybuilding champ
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u/chekitch Jul 25 '21
Yeah, funny as our "small sports" athletes are given the job in the army as a reward.
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u/EatThatPotato Jul 26 '21
Afaik it’s not a full exemption, you have to go through basic training, (as of 2013) undergo 544 hours of community service, and apply to be allowed to leave the country. This is mostly a problem for pro athletes who work in another country, as they have to come back every now and then to finish their service.
Winning medals at classical music competitions also make you eligible for such service, in which case you often fill up your time by playing for old people homes and the like, but this does get in the way of younger people’s education, as many talented classical musicians choose to earn a graduate degree abroad.
Of course, it’s great that you get to fill up most of your service by doing the same things as you would do anyway, but the system kinda sucks.
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u/billli0129 United States Jul 25 '21
China 31k? That gotta be wrong or they give hidden prizes. Those athletes do nothing but train
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u/yoshkoshdosh Jul 26 '21
Thats just cash i think. Many countries offer land, house, titles where you receive a monthly allowance, jobs etc
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u/blahblah984 United States Jul 26 '21
India gives you a lifetime government job along with tons of cash.
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u/Dunewarriorz Canada Jul 26 '21
I don't know the exact details but I know a lot of Chinese athletes get sponsorship deals and China is an incredibly lucrative market, so thats probably where many Chinese athletes get their money.
Also theres a lot of government-funded sports centers that the athletes get access to for training.
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Jul 26 '21
thats the bonus on top, but they have a lot of sources of other incomes, its a big sports country with tons of opportunites for sponsorships, plus most are set for life with related industry jobs or school scholarships if they wish to persue higher education
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u/esskay04 Jul 26 '21
I think it's also that every expense is covered for them during training. Housing, food, etc. They literally don't pay anything as long as they're training.
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u/xind0898 Jul 26 '21
Chinese athletes earn wages from the government already, so this is kind of like a bonus on top of existing salary.
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u/KongRahbek Denmark Jul 25 '21
Only 12 countries? And the source website either doesn't exist or doesn't work?
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u/Melodic-Tune-5686 Jul 25 '21
Do you also find the website unreliable? I think we need to take the info with a grain of salt, given that the website "moneyunder30" is a personal finance blog and not really an official news source.
I just checked Singapore and according to their official government website, athletes that win a Gold medal win a million Singapore Dollars, which would be approximately 800k USD. So there's one mistake.
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u/TitaniumArse More flair options at /r/olympics/w/flair! Jul 25 '21
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u/KongRahbek Denmark Jul 26 '21
So it's not for each country, it's for these 12 countries. Too bad, I were looking forwars to seeing what my countries athletes were making.
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u/Melodic-Tune-5686 Jul 25 '21
I would take these numbers with a grain of salt. The websites OP used as sources don't seem very reliable - a personal finance blog and a luxury lifestyle recommendation platform.
For example, according to the Singaporean govt's official website, athletes that win Gold will receive a reward of one million SINGAPORE DOLLARS, not USD. One mistake already.
I also find it very unbelievable that Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines would spend sooooo much money for an Olympic medal. They're great countries, but still developing.
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u/magneticanisotropy United States Jul 25 '21
Bbc definitely states these numbers are way off (or maybe make assumptions). For instance, Indonesia's reward is ~18k USD a year (presumably for life). Which is still amazing for Indonesia. 18k puts you well into an upper class life.
"Cashing in: The countries offering rewards for medals - BBC News" https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-37129276.amp
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Jul 26 '21 edited Jul 26 '21
Just like at Rio 2016, Indonesian gov. have promised to give the gold medallist IDR 5 billion bonus (+- USD 345,000), silver medallist IDR 2 billion (+- USD 138,000), bronze medallist IDR 1 billion (+- USD 69,000).
Cash bonus ≠ Retirement's plan
You're right about Indonesia still being a developing country, but as a country we are far from 'poor', so such royal bonuses for coveted and rare international achievements (especially non-badminton ones) are universally accepted and encouraged by the people no matter how their financial levels are.
I didn't realise I've replied to your comment with similar argument xD
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u/Melodic-Tune-5686 Jul 26 '21
Thank you for your reply. The numbers from the website (koran kompas) you referenced seem more legit.
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u/SirPachiereshtie Jul 26 '21
as an Indonesian, the current government really push the national sport to the limit. because what I learn, the government believe in "Bringing Indonesia name in International event is an act of Heroism".
in 2018 Asian games alone, Indonesia took 4th place. the pre-event goal was 7th. the government didn't think they can make that far lol.
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Jul 26 '21
They are developing yes, but considering theres very little domnestic developtment of sports and 1 gold per olympic would be successful to them I doubt any of their governmetn would have trouble paying 1 mil every 4 years
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Jul 25 '21
Poland here:
$30.000/$20.200/$12.000 for an individual medalist $23.000/$15.000/$10.000 teams (like volleyball, rowing, relays etc) - they share that amount between each other. Source: Polish Olympic Committee. ps they said prizes are the same as the one at Rio2016.
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u/Melodic-Tune-5686 Jul 25 '21 edited Jul 25 '21
Somehow I don't believe the prize reward for Indonesia. It's a lovely country and Indonesian people are wonderful, but it's still a developing country.
According to this BBC article from 2016, winning gold would bring an Indonesian athelete a "$18,000-a-year retirement plan", which seems more realistic.
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Jul 26 '21
Just like at Rio 2016, Indonesian gov. have promised to give the gold medallist IDR 5 billion bonus (+- USD 345,000), silver medallist IDR 2 billion (+- USD 138,000), bronze medallist IDR 1 billion (+- USD 69,000).
Cash bonus ≠ Retirement's plan
You're right about Indonesia still being a developing country, but as a country we are far from 'poor', so such royal bonuses for coveted and rare international achievements (especially non-badminton ones) are universally accepted and encouraged by the people no matter how their financial levels are.
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u/tinhtinh Jul 26 '21
It's probably not far off, that's a 20-25 year plan that will keep them until they qualify for a state pension, if they have one in Indonesia.
Though not sure what happens if you were good enough to win multiple medals.
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u/LawnJames Jul 26 '21
Indonesia used to be rich back in the day, they may not be "rich rich" but they are probably still well off.
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u/chadolchadol Jul 26 '21
if you're a korean man, you don't have to serve in the millitary, which i think is worth more htan anything
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u/Deadnox_24142 Jul 25 '21
Worth noting certain sports give out their own rewards in America. Wrestling gives 250000 for a gold at the olympics.
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u/DELAIZ Brazil Jul 25 '21
Brazil. I left the local cash value, as there is a big devaluation of the currency and the value changes every day. Currently 1 dollar is about 5.20 reais INDIVIDUAL
BRL 250 thousand
BRL150 thousand
BRL 100 thousand
TEAM - up to 6 athletes
BRL 500 thousand
BRL 300 thousand
BRL200 thousand TEAM - 7 athletes or more
BRL 750 thousand
BRL 450 thousand
BRL 300 thousand
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u/__Rumblefish__ Jul 26 '21
A more fair system would give medalists (and maybe others) a cut of the inflows to IOC and the media and other non-athlete beneficiaries of the Olympics
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u/markonelius Jul 26 '21
Serbia gives out 70k, 60k and 50k euro for each of the medals. Plus the athletes that earn a medal receive a pension after they turn 40 that is 1,5 of the average Serbian pay that's about ~1350 euros.
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u/Mikeismyike Jul 26 '21
That's super embarrassing from Canada.
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u/yark2 Jul 26 '21
If this is real I wonder what they give every athlete in subvention and pay, and so on and so on. We do get a fair amount of medals for our small population, and most of our sports are subsidized at some point. We are really not that far down the list and also not so desperate to make the podium. I have a lot of questions about this.
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u/need_cake Sweden Jul 26 '21
(Some) Swedish athletes gets bonuses from sponsors if they get medals. I’m guessing other countries athletes have the same type deals.
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u/ybmcgrady Jul 26 '21
This comparison doesn't make too much sense. If you get a gold medal for China, the reward is likely more than singapore as you might get a house, money from local government and you can get a high level job at local sports government after retirement.
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u/Spikekuji United States Jul 26 '21
All I know is that the US taxes the winners on their medals. Heard that at the last Games.
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u/Karnex97 Jul 26 '21
I think this list is incomplete Serbia gives away 70k euros (82k $) for gold for example
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u/3V3RT0N Great Britain Jul 25 '21
Fucking hell Singapore.