The past few years have witnessed a steep rise in the prize money given to athletes for winning international accolades, especially in Olympics. The recent example of the same is weightlifter Chanu Saikhom Mirabai, who has bagged India’s sole medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 till now and for which she has been rewarded with handsome cash prize from her home nation and its different states.
As soon as Chanu won a silver medal in the ongoing Games, Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Viashnaw announced Rs 2 crore reward for the young weightlifter. Moreover, Manipur Chief Minister M Biren Singh announced Rs 1 crore reward while Indian Olympics Association added a Rs 10 lakh reward to further the Olympian’s winnings. These rewards are in addition to Rs 40 lakh that has been set by Indian Olympic Association for silver medalists at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Notably, India isn’t the only country that is encouraging its athletes with lucrative cash rewards. As per reports, medalilsts from Southeast Asian countries (Brunei, Burma [Myanmar], Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) at the Tokyo Olympics are receiving lavish rewards for their accomplishments, in addition to a hero’s welcome when they return home.
The same was witnessed when Philippines announced a reward of at least 33 million Philippine pesos (around $600,000) for its weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who won her country’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in Tokyo. As per reports, she has also been offered two homes and free flights for life.
It is worth mentioning that the International Olympic Committee (IOA) does not hand out prize money to any athlete for finishing in the top three of an event, but provides the medals and sends an “Olympic diploma”, a certificate, to all those who finish in the top eight.
However, most Olympic medal winners do receive a cash reward from their home Olympic committee, and prize money allocated for gold, silver, and bronze medals are varied across countries.
Here we take a look at the countries who reward their respective medallists with the highest cash prizes:
8) Australia
Canada and Australia share the eighth spot. Both countries reward their medallists with almost the same amount as there’s just a slight difference of $1000 between their cash prizes.
Canada – Australia
- Gold: $16,000 – $15,000
- Silver: $12,000 – $11,000
- Bronze: $8,000 – $7,000
7) United States of America
The United States of America (USA), who has mostly been on the top of the medals tally, surprisingly comes at the seventh spot with $37,500 for Gold medallists.
- Gold: $37,500
- Silver: $22,500
- Bronze: $15,000
6) Japan and Brazil
Japan and Brazil come next with $45,000 and $49,000, respectively for Gold winners.
Japan – Brazil
- Gold: $45,000 – $49,000
- Silver: $18,000 – $29,000
- Bronze: $9,000 – $20,000
5) INDIA
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has set cash prizes of Rs 75 lakh ($100,000 – approx.) for gold medallists and Rs 40 lakh and Rs 25 lakh for silver and bronze medallists respectively. However, the winners also get additional cash benefits from their respective state governments.
India (based on IOC)
- Gold: INR 7,500,000 ($100,834)
- Silver: INR 4,000,000 ($53,778)
- Bronze: INR 2,500,000 ($33,611)
4) Hungary
Hungary comes in at fourth with a cash prize of $168,000 for gold winners.
- Gold: $168,000
- Silver: $126,000
- Bronze: $96,000
3) Italy and Malaysia
Italy and Malaysia are in the third spot.
Malaysia – Italy
- Gold: $236,000 – $213,000
- Silver: $71,000 – $107,000
- Bronze: $24,000 – $71,000
2) Kazakhstan
Surprisingly, Kazakhstan offers the second-highest cash rewards to its medallists.
- Gold: $250,000
- Silver: $150,000
- Bronze: $75,000
1) Singapore
Singapore is the highest rewarding country which will pay medalists around $737,000 for gold, $369,000 for silver, and $184,000 for bronze.
- Gold: $737,000
- Silver: $369,000
- Bronze: $184,000
