Tokyo Olympics: How much money will medal-winning athletes earn? Know the cash prizes announced by different countries.
Chanu Saikhom Mirabai is India’s sole medal winner at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 till now. While she was conferred with a silver medal and a memorable podium tribute for her achievement, the medal doesn't accompany any official cash prize from the International Olympic Committee.
As is the custom with nations that send athletes to Olympics, Chanu’s effort will be rewarded with cash prize from her home country. Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Viashnaw announced a Rs 2 crore reward for Chanu.
Manipur Chief Minister M Biren Singh announced a Rs 1 crore reward while Indian Olympics Association added a Rs 10 lakh reward to further the Olympian’s winnings.
When converted to USD, Chanu’s combined cash reward will be in excess of US $400,000. But how does Indian Olympic medalist’s earnings compare to winners from other countries at Tokyo Olympics 2020?
Cash rewards for Olympic medalists in different countries
Cash rewards allocated for gold, silver and bronze medals at Olympics are varied across countries. A list of cash rewards for Olympic medalists from 12 countries, compiled by CNBC and Money Under 30 shows that American athletes are conferred with much less cash rewards compared to Indian winners. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has set the cash prize at $37,500, $22,500, and $15,000 for winning gold, silver and bronze respectively.
On the other hand, one of the highest rewarding countries is Singapore which will pay medalists around $737,000 for gold, $369,000 for silver and $184,000 for bronze.
Another high cash prize paying country is Kazakhstan with rewards of $250,000 (G), $150,000 (S) and 75,000 (B). Other countries rewarding in excess of $200,000 to winners are Malaysia, Italy and the Philippines.
Countries that perform well and are higher placed in the Olympics tally such as Japan, South Africa and Brazil pay in the lesser range of under $50,000, rewards amounting closer to the USA.
Canada and Australia pay just $16,000 and $15,000 to their gold medalists, respectively.
Rewards announced by India
The Indian Olympic Association has set cash prizes of Rs 75 lakh for gold medalists and Rs 40 lakh and Rs 25 lakh for silver and bronze respectively.
However, that prize will be escalated by steep cash rewards being offered by several states to spur their athletes to medals at Tokyo Olympics. Highest rewards are announced by Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Odisha at Rs 6 crore for gold winners, Rs 4 crore for silver and Rs 2 crore, Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 2.5 crore respectively for bronze.
Most states have announced cash rewards where a gold medal will earn athletes between Rs 1-3 crore. The lowest cash prize announced is reportedly by West Bengal at Rs 25 lakh (G), Rs 15 lakh (S) and Rs 10 lakh (B).
Apart from such cash rewards on winning medals, some Olympians also bag sponsorship or endorsement deals on the back of success in the games. But such deals are still rare for medalists in most Olympic sports.
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 "DNA Explainer: Here's how much money athletes will earn for winning medals at Tokyo Olympics")
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