Winning a medal at the Olympics is an unforgettable achievement that can transform an athlete’s life.
While the honour of representing one’s country is priceless, the reward for securing a medal can be substantial – up to R1.3 million.
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According to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc), South Africa has sent 138 athletes (excluding reserves) across 19 sports to compete for podium finishes at the Paris 2024 Games.
Although the team for Paris is slightly smaller than the one for Tokyo 2020, the incentives for winning medals remain generous.
According to BusinessTech, Sascoc offers a top reward of R400 000 for a gold medal, ensuring that athletes’ efforts are well compensated.
Sascoc allocates their monetary incentives based on categories, including individual athletes, relay teams, team sports, and boats with two athletes.
Athletes competing in athletic events can earn an even greater reward if they win gold.
For the 2024 Paris Olympics, World Athletics has announced that it will be the first international federation to offer prize money at the Olympic Games.
This initiative aims to financially reward athletes for ‘achieving the pinnacle of sporting success.’
World Athletics has set aside a total prize pool of $2.4 million (R43.88 million) to reward gold medalists in each of the 48 athletic events at the Paris 2024 Olympics, with $50,000 (R914 553) awarded per gold medal.
This means that if a South African athlete wins gold in an individual athletic event, they could earn a substantial total of approximately R1.3 million.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe emphasised in a recent interview with CNBC that these athletes deserve a share of the revenue they help generate for the organisation.
‘Athletes are, in essence, the bearers of the revenues that we get,’ said Coe.
Highest-paying countries:
While South Africa offers notable incentives for its athletes, these rewards are modest compared to some of the highest-paying countries at the Games, which provide substantial cash bonuses and perks like free housing.
Hong Kong is the most generous in rewarding its Olympic medalists.
According to the Hong Kong Sports Institute, individual athletes can receive HK$6 million (R14.07 million) for a gold medal, HK$3 million (R7.04 million) for a silver medal, and HK$1.5 million (R3.5 million) for a bronze medal.
Even athletes who do not reach the podium receive substantial rewards, with R1.7 million for a fourth-place finish and R879 738 for finishing between fifth and eighth place.
Additionally, Hong Kong offers R28.14 million per team for a gold medal, R14.07 million for a silver, and R7.04 million for a bronze.
Israel offers the second-highest incentives for Olympic medalists, having doubled its rewards from the previous Games.
Athletes can now receive R4.95 million for a gold medal, R3.72 million for a silver, and R2.48 million for a bronze.
Serbia follows, awarding $218 000 (R4 million) for a gold medal, $85 960 (R1.58 million) for a silver, and $64 470 (R1.18 million) for a bronze.
In addition to these cash incentives, Serbian Olympic medalists are entitled to a national pension starting at age 40, paid monthly.
Malaysia offers the fourth-highest incentives, with gold medalists receiving R3.96 million and bronze medalists receiving 10% of that amount, or R396 000.
In an effort to further encourage athletes, Malaysia has recently announced it will double the reward to R7.92 million for the country’s first-ever gold medalist at Paris 2024.
Morocco provides the highest incentives in Africa, offering $200 525 (R3.68 million) for a gold medal, $125 328 (R2.3 million) for a silver, and $75 197 (R1.38 million) for a bronze.
Italy offers gold medalists approximately $196 000 (R3.6 million), silver medalists $98 000 (R1.8 million), and bronze medalists $65 000 (R1.2 million).
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Picture: Marc Piasecki / Gallo