Winning an Olympic gold medal is the pinnacle of most athletes’ careers, compensating years of unwavering commitment, dedication, and sacrifice.
Given the magnitude of this achievement, you would think these athletes would be monetarily rewarded for representing their country on the international stage. However, if you are part of Team GB, that has not historically been the case.
It matters where you are born
While team GB does not reward their athletes, many other countries do. The US awards $37,500 to every gold medallist, $22,500 for silver, and $15,000 for bronze. France awards significantly more, with its gold medallists receiving €80,000 ($87,627), €40,000 ($43,900) for silver, and €20,000 ($22,000) for bronze.
According to public records, Singapore is the country that offers the largest cash prize with a gold medallist winning S$1m (around $760,000). Granted, only one man has ever won a gold medal for Singapore. That was during the 2016 Rio Olympics, when swimmer Joseph Schooling won a gold medal in the men’s 100-metre butterfly.
Budgeting for gold?
The British Olympic Association has generally avoided answering why it does not pay its athletes for Olympic triumph. Yet, debates over the years have revealed some clues.
The first reason, and perhaps the most important, is around money. The Olympic Committee has a limited budget and simply can’t afford to reward its athletes. With team GB being a reasonably successful Olympic team, some members have argued that the committee simply does not have the funding to award the numerous medalists with a cash prize.
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By GlobalDataOther people argue that the athletes don’t require the cash prize because an Olympic medal can indirectly lead to an increase in income from brand partnerships and other marketing opportunities. While this may be true for Tom Daley and Adam Peaty, for a majority of team GB, this isn’t the case.
Another weak argument is that awarding a cash prize is ‘against the Olympic spirit’. Even going back to ancient Greece, the Olympic Games have never had a culture of humility or frugalness. As legend goes, the victor of the sprint race received a crown made from olive leaves and was entitled to have a statue of himself set up at Olympia. He (women were only allowed to compete in the Olympics starting in 1900) did not receive money but was treated like a celebrity in their hometown and was rewarded with many free gifts.
It is unrealistic to expect a country that wins a significant number of medals to award its athletes Singapore levels of prize money.
However, more can be done! Many athletes have pushed for more of the $7.6bn in revenues the International Olympic Committee made from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to be trickled-down to national committees and earmarked for prize money.
Athletes have relatively short careers. So, their window of opportunity to maximise their income is significantly shorter than the average person. Taking this into account, they should be properly rewarded for their years of dedication to their sport and their country.
Things are changing…
In April 2024, World Athletics announced it would set aside $2.4m from its International Olympic Committee revenue allocation and reward athletes $50,000 for winning a gold medal in each of the 48 track and field events at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
This has reignited the debate over reward money, with many sports committees arguing it is unfair and creates a reward discrepancy between track and field athletes and athletes in other sports categories. But instead of complaining, the national and sports committees should listen to World Athletics and follow suit.
