In the Netherlands you can buy a nice middle class car with the proceeds of a gold medal, our colleagues at RTL Z found out earlier. For example, gold earns Sifan Hassan 30,000 euros. A silver medal earns a Dutch athlete 22,500 euros and a bronze medal at 15,000 euros.
At the neighbors
The bonus with our southern neighbors, Belgium, is slightly higher. The winner of a gold medal will receive 50,000 euros. Silver and bronze earn a bonus of 30,000 euros and 20,000 euros respectively. Among neighbors to the east in Germany, they pay a little less, with 20,000 euros for gold, 15,000 euros for silver and 10,000 euros for bronze.
Overall not bad at all, but it could be a lot better.
It The American business magazine Forbes found where it is best to live (regarding the money for the medal, let’s not consider the rest) in order to make as much money as possible with your sports profit. We will settle this.
Honorable mention: Estonia
We start with an honorable mention for Estonia. Because although the amount spent for a gold medal does not seem so high, 4,600 euros, it still adds up well. Because Estonian winners receive this amount every year for the rest of their lives. For a 29-year-old athlete celebrating his 78th birthday, this represents a total of over 250,000 euros. Not so tight after all.
At number 10: Kosovo
The government of small Kosovo is not stingy with its athletes. A gold medal brings an athlete from this country 100,000 euros. The silver winners receive 60,000 euros and a bronze medal brings in another 40,000 euros. In any case, the country already has two gold medals by winning judokas Nora Gjakova and Disstria Krasniqi.
Coaches receive half the amount of a medal. And that’s not all. In addition to the country’s award, the Kosovo Olympic Committee also wishes to pay a sum to the athletes themselves. How much that will still be to be determined.
Number 9: Hungary
A Hungarian who wins gold receives nearly 140,000 euros credited to his bank account. For the money it is 100,000 euros and for the bronze 80,000 euros. Athletes who receive four to eight also receive smaller and smaller amounts. For the cash prize, it doesn’t matter whether someone delivered an individual performance or it was done as a team. This is good news for the Hungarian men’s water polo team, which is one of the favorites for gold.
Number 8: Philippines
For a gold medal, a Filipino athlete receives around 170,000 euros. Last week, Filipino weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz won gold for his country for the first time in 97 years. How happy her compatriots were with this, it was evident from all the bonuses she received on top of this cash prize. With a bonus from the president of the country, Duterte, she is richer by more than 800,000 euros. She also got a house, an apartment, a van and unlimited flights with two airlines.
Number 7: Italy
Italy pays the individual winners of a gold medal 180,000 euros, 90,000 euros and 60,000 bronze. It can still cost Italians dearly, as the country usually wins quite a few medals. At the Games in 2016 they won no less than 28 medals and also in this edition they seem to be back on track.
Number 6: Malaysia
Malaysia pays an athlete with a gold medal 200,000 euros. A silver winner will receive 60,000 euros and the bronze will receive 20,000 euros. In addition, the winners receive a monthly amount. For gold it is 1000 euros, for silver 600 and for bronze 400.
Number 5: Kazakhstan
This month, Kazakhstan announced that the gold medalists will receive 210,000 euros, silver 125,000 and bronze over 60,000 euros.
Number 4: Bangladesh
Bangladesh is doing everything possible to motivate athletes to win gold. Because the country has never won gold. A gold medal therefore now brings in no less than 250,000 euros. A silver winner will receive 120,000 euros and bronze will receive 85,000 euros. However, that wasn’t to help this year either. None of Bangladesh’s six Olympians won gold.
Number 3: bronze for Indonesia
An individual gold medal brings in no less than 290,000 euros for an Indonesian athlete. In addition, the winner of a gold medal also receives nearly 1,200 euros per month. This bonus also applied during matches in 2016. Then the Indonesian badminton mixed doubles, who won gold, got the big bonus.
Number 2: money for Taiwan
An individual Taiwanese athlete receives 600,000 euros for a gold medal. This edition of the games can already be claimed by someone: Kuo Hsing-chun won gold in weightlifting in the weight category up to 59 kilograms. Taiwan is not only generous to the ultimate winners. Someone who finishes eighth still receives more than 26,000 euros, almost as much as an American athlete gets for gold.
Number 1: gold for Singapore
There can only be one winner – unless it’s the high jump – and that’s … Singapore. The country pays the athletes who win a gold medal no less than 1 million Singaporean dollars, or 620,000 euros. The silver winners receive 310,000 euros and the bronze 155,000 euros. So far, that hasn’t helped much. Singapore is still at zero in the standings so far.
Nothing
So it can always be better than the Netherlands, but it can also be much worse. There are also a lot of countries that pay nothing at all for a podium place at the Olympics. After all, it is about honor.
For example, Great Britain, Norway, New Zealand and Sweden do not give any bonuses for gold, silver or bronze in Tokyo.
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