From gold coins to half a million euros: the countries that pay their athletes the best in the Winter Olympics

This Sunday ends the 2022 Winter Olympics held in the city of Beijing. Without a doubt, one of the most important sporting events of the year for many of the athletes who participate and therefore aspire to win a medal for their country, as was the case of our female representative Queralt Castellet when she achieved silver in the Snowboard category. Half Pipe.

Apart from the recognition, the fact of winning a medal implies an economic reward that could lead to sponsorship opportunities that are always welcome, even more so in athletes little known internationally. In this sense, the countries are in charge of paying good sums of money to each Olympic medalist.

Winning a medal can change the lives of many of these athletes. According to a survey conducted in 2020 by the Global Athlete organization among some 500 elite athletes from 48 countries, it was revealed that 60% of them did not consider themselves financially stable. For many of them, the economic prizes offered by these countries are a benefit that can change the destiny of many athletes. According Forbesthese are the countries that best pay their athletes for a gold medal.

1. Hong Kong

The special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China offers 565,000 euros to athletes who win gold. Surprisingly, Hong Kong gives prize money to the athletes who finish in the top eight places, with €35,200 being the prize for eighth place. Unfortunately for many of its athletes, so far none of them have won gold, silver or bronze. What’s more, Hong Kong has never won a medal at a Winter Olympics.

2. Turkey

The Turkish country gives away 22-carat gold coins to athletes who win a gold medal, according to a 2010 Turkish government decree. Each coin is worth about 337,000 euros, and athletes who set an Olympic record would pocket an additional 167,000 euros. It would be quite a feat since Turkey, like Hong Kong, has never achieved an Olympic medal in a Winter Olympics.

3. Malaysia

Malaysia will give €210,000 to each athlete who wins gold during the Winter Olympics. A truly staggering amount, considering that the country’s average annual income is 14,800 euros. Unfortunately, neither of the two athletes that the country has sent to Beijing has won a medal.

4. Italy

The transalpine country will distribute around 180,000 euros for gold, 90,000 for silver and 60,000 for bronze. Currently, Italy occupies eleventh place in the Olympic medal table, with a total of 15 medals, two of which are gold. So far she has already surpassed her PyeongChang 2018 mark where she added 10 medals.

5. Cyprus

Cyprus offers 148,000 euros for each gold achieved, although, like Hong Kong, Turkey and Malaysia, it has never won a medal at the Winter Olympics. And even more so when it has only taken one athlete to Beijing.

Curiosities

The United States is roughly in the middle of the countries that best pay their athletes to win an Olympic medal. Gold is paid at 33,000 euros, silver at 20,000 euros and bronze at 13,000, approximately. According to reports from ForbesThe US pays more than twice as much for gold as countries like Australia and Canada and half as much as nations like France and Romania.

Interestingly, Singapore is the country that offers its athletes the most reward for gold, some 650,000 euros, although in this edition it has not taken any athlete to Beijing 2022. With all this, winning gold would mean winning almost 20 times more than the United States. Joined. In contrast, athletes from the United Kingdom, Norway, first in the medal table, or Croatia do not receive any benefit.

Many countries offer, in addition to the economic, an additional prize that usually varies depending on each prize. For example, Malaysia awards about 1,000 euros of lifetime pay to each athlete who achieves gold; and the Philippines gave the weightlifting winner Hidilyn Díaz two houses and free flights for life in Tokyo 2020.

And in Spain?

So far, the Spanish delegation in Beijing has only achieved one medal, the silver one won by Queralt Castellet. For Spanish athletes, winning the gold means winning 94,000 euros, for the 48,000 silver and 30,000 bronze.