Olympic Prize Money By Country: Places with the Highest Cash Prizes for Medalists

Even though there are quite a few sportsmen who struggle to make ends meet, many elite athletes get to bring home thousands to millions of cash for coming out on top at different competitions. Take the much-awaited Tokyo Olympic games for example. Some athletes win gold, silver, or bronze medals and take home what’s equivalent to millions of pesos. And that’s on top of the sponsorships and brand deals they can secure plus the pride and recognition they bring to their home country. Here are just some of the countries with the highest cash prizes for their Olympic medalists:

Singapore

First on the list is Singapore, the Lion City. The country has the highest monetary bonuses for its Olympians — once you get the coveted podium finish, you’re an instant millionaire. Check out the jaw-dropping amount the Singapore government will award its medalists and their rough estimates in Philippine peso.

Gold – SGD 1 million (PHP 36.8 million)
Silver – SGD 500,000 (PHP 18.4 million)
Bronze – SGD 250,000 (PHP 9.2 million)

These numbers are just for individual competitions but team events and team sports have higher payouts amounting up to SGD 2 million (PHP 73.6 million) to be shared by all the athletes.

As of writing, Singapore isn’t part of the top 79 countries with medalists at the Tokyo Olympics.

Taiwan

The Taiwanese government is already doling out a huge sum to their athletes who will come home with medals but there have been some requests to add more to the bounty. From the NT$20 million they currently offer, a tycoon has suggested an increase to NT$100 million or a jaw-dropping PHP 178.8 million. But even without the increase, they’re already giving out a lucrative amount:

Gold – NT$20 million (PHP 35.7 million)
Silver – NT$7 million (PHP 12.5 million)
Bronze – NT$5 million (PHP 8.9 million)

Currently, Taiwan’s athletes (ChineseTaipei) have secured 11 medals: 2 gold, 4 silver, and 5 bronze.

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Hong Kong

Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, has sent 46 of its athletes to this year’s Games. The number is the best record in the city’s history according to Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. Here’s how much money their winners will be showered with:

Gold – HKD 5 million (PHP 31.9 million)
Silver – HKD 2.5 million (PHP 15.9 million)
Bronze – HKD 1 million (PHP 6.3 million)

So far, Hong Kong has won one gold medal and two silver medals at the Games.

Indonesia

Indonesia is celebrating a gold medal win for badminton players Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu. Not only will they receive a lavish amount, prizes also await them at home. This includes “five cows, a meatball restaurant, and a new house.” Here’s how much winning Indonesian Olympians get:

Gold – Rp 5 billion (PHP 17.3 million)
Silver – Rp 2 billion (PHP 6.9 million)
Bronze – Rp 1 billion (PHP 3.4 million)

Indonesia has a total of five medals so far: one for both gold and silver and three for bronze.

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Bangladesh

Bangladesh has yet to win its first Olympic medal so their cash prize for the fortunate history-maker is high. The country has sent 49 athletes to 10 different Olympics but so far, none have managed to make a podium finish. But when that moment comes, the lucky athlete will go home richer:

Gold – $300,000 (PHP 14.9 million)
Silver – $150,000 (PHP 7.4 million)
Bronze – $100,000 (PHP 4.9 million)

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is another country with the highest payouts for its Olympian medal winners. They’ve sent 96 athletes to this year’s Games in the hopes of adding to their medal haul in the past — 71 medals, 16 of those are gold. Here’s how much their winners will get:

Gold – USD 250,000 (PHP 12.4 million)
Silver – USD 150,000 (PHP 7.4 million)
Bronze – USD 75,000 (PHP 3.7 million)

Kazhakstan has bagged four bronze medals so far at the Tokyo Olympics.

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Malaysia

Apart from a high payout for its Olympian podium finishers, the Malaysian government also has a Skim Imbuhan Tetap Olimpik initiative. It states that athletes will paid a lifetime monthly salary: RM5,000 (PHP 58.9k) for gold, RM3,000 (PHP 35.3k) for silver and RM2,000 (PHP 23.5k) for bronze. Here’s what their medalists stand to receive:

Gold – RM1,000,000 (PHP 11.7 million)
Silver – RM300,000 (PHP 3.5 million)
Bronze – RM100,000 (PHP 1.1 million)

Malaysia is currently ranked 70th at the Olympics with one bronze medal win.

Italy

Bounty for Italian athletes has increased 20% from the 2016 Rio Games. The country has constantly hauled medals during the Olympics and this year is no exception. One of the best moments for Italians is when Lamont Marcell Jacobs snagged gold at the 100m final and, 11 minutes later, Gianmarco Tamberi won his gold in the high jump. Here’s what these athletes are going to pocket: