Olympic Medals: Surprising Disparity in Gold vs Bronze Earnings

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The 2024 Olympic games are underway, and the medal counts are stacking up, with the United States currently in the lead with the most medals. Winning a gold, silver, or bronze medal at the biggest competition in the world offers enough of a reward and payoff for all the hard work, dedication, and sacrifice these athletes endure. However, there is also a financial incentive for the athletes if they represent one of the countries that pay incentives. Each country has its own pay scale for each medal, and some offer housing, healthcare services, and other incentives as well.

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According to Wikipedia the medal bonuses varies greatly by country for each medal won. As you can see, a Bronze medalist can earn thousands of dollars more than a Gold medalist:

Country: Gold Silver Bronze

Singapore: $737,000 Gold $369,000 Silver $184,000 Bronze

Italy: $213,000 Gold $107,000 Silver $71,000 Bronze

Phillipines: $200,000 Gold $100,000 Silver $40,000 Bronze

China: $720,000 Gold $251,000 Silver $178,000 Bronze

U.S.A.: $38,000 Gold $23,000 Silver $15,000 Bronze

Germany: $22,000 Gold $17,000 Silver $11,000 Bronze

Bulgaria: $99,000 Gold $72,806 Silver $54,605 Bronze

These are some examples of medal bonuses according to Wikipedia. You can view the other countries here.

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My daughter doing Rhythmic GymnasticsPhoto byJami Lynn (Author)

We can look at the Rhythmic gymnastics results that took place today. You can see the difference in the bonuses of each placing per country. The top 3 were:

Gold-Germany $22,000

Silver-Bulgaria $72,806 (Gold medal= $99,000)

Bronze-Italy $71,000 (Gold medal= $196,000)

*These are not exact dollar amounts paid, it is estimated with each countries conversions to US dollar exchange rate at time of referenced article.

Photo byJacob RiceonUnsplash

For most athletes, it's not about the amount of money, but the victory of overcoming challenges, persevering, and representing their country! The financial incentives are just the icing on the cake and a nice reward for all their hard work and dedication!