Through observations, winks and anecdotes, the Carnets de Paris immerse you in the heart of the Olympic Games.
When an athlete wins an Olympic medal, his or her country may or may not offer a financial reward. In Canada, the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Athlete Excellence Fund offers $20,000 for a gold medal, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze. In addition, there is a $5,000 award for non-Olympic years to “cover living, training and competition expenses.”
This year, Canada’s top medallist so far is swimmer Summer McIntosh. With three individual gold medals and a bronze medal in the team event, she takes home an extra $70,000.
French darling Leon Marchand, for his part, gets a much bigger haul, although he only has one more gold medal than his Canadian counterpart. Since a French gold medal is worth 80,000 euros and a bronze is worth 20,000, the swimmer will receive 340,000 euros, or nearly CA$510,500.
Some countries, such as Iceland, Norway and Sweden, have decided not to pay winners and instead invest in the overall development of their athletes. “We want our athletes to have all the support they need before the Olympics to maximize their chances of Olympic success,” he told the magazine. Forbes Swedish Olympic Committee Secretary General Åsa Edlund Jönsson.
Sports federations can also decide to offer money to medalists. This year, World Athletics is giving $50,000 to those who win gold in the 48 Olympic track and field events. These grants total $2.4 million. The federation thus acknowledges that its “share of the revenues [olympiques] is largely due to the fact that the athletes are the stars of the show.”
In some countries, athletes receive gifts in addition to the money associated with their medals. For his gold medal in gymnastics, Carlos Edriel Yulo of the Philippines will receive, among other things, a two-room apartment and a lifetime supply of ramen.
This report was financed with the support of the Transat International Journalism Fund-The duty.