Last updated on February 13th, 2025 at 09:32 am
So far, the 2024 Olympics in Paris has been very fun, surprising, exciting and in some cases, even controversial. Of course, this is what every Olympic fan was expecting and we only hope that it will just better. However, let’s talk about the Olympic athletes as they are the ones putting it on the line for their country. So, what do they get for winning an Olympic medal other than the glory and praises. Thus, we answer that question with our What Athletes Earn for Winning a Medal in the Paris Olympics article.
At the time of this article (8/1/2025, 9:43 AM ET), 253 Olympic medals have been won so far. The U.S. leads the pack in terms of medal counts with 31 medals with 6 of them being Gold Medals. On their other hand, China has most Gold Medals wit 11 of them. That is a lot of medals with many more to go.
Bookies can cash in on the Olympics by taking bets, and media companies make money from selling ads. On the other hand, what do athletes get? Here is what each athlete will get if anything for being the best of the best in their perspective category.
The Medals and Other Gifts from the AOC
First, let’s be clear that the international Olympic Committee (AOC) does not give athletes cash prizes for winning a medal. The only thing they give out are Olympic medals, a plushy of the Paris Olympic Mascot, and an Olympic poster!
Of course, the medal itself is worth its weight in precious medal. Just keep in mind that the Gold Medals are not made of pure gold. For the Paris Olympic, Gold Medals are made of 523 grams of Silver coated with 6 grams of gold. Oh, the medals also include a piece of iron from the Eiffel Tower which some consider to be priceless.
Another not so fun Olympic fact for some U.S. medalist athletes is that they may have to pay a tax on it. For example, a Californian gold medal winner has to report their Gold Medal for state tax purposes.
Considering the current price of gold and silver, that the metal value of a gold medal is around $949.38. This is because at the time of this article, silver was worth $28.65 per ounce and gold at $2,425 per ounce. So, if Paris Olympic Gold winners are ever in need of cash, they can get that much for their medal.
On the other hand, some countries also reward their athletes with monetary compensation for their performance.
What Athletes Earn for Winning a Medal in the Paris Olympics – The Highest Payouts
The biggest payout comes from Hong Ling who is giving gold medalists $768,000 (HK$ 6Million). It is also giving out HK$3 million for silver and HK$1.5 million for a bronze medal. So far, Hong King will be paying 2 athletes for winning a medal. Cheung Ka-long, for winning gold in the men’s individual foil event, and swimmer Siobhan Bernadette Haughey for winning a bronze medal.
Singapore is not far behind for rewarding their medalist athletes. They are giving Gold medalist $745,300 USD (1 million Singapore dollars) while giving SG$500,000 for silver and SG$250,000 for bronze.
As to the U.S., they are cheaper with the prizes giving $38,000 for Gold, $23,000 for Silver and $15,000 for Bronze.
What Olympic Medalist Earn
Here is how much they give their athletes who have won an Olympic Medal. Just remember that the amount was converted to USD so the numbers may be slightly off.
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Hong Kong | $768,000 | $384,000 | $192,000 |
| Singapore | $745,000 | $373,000 | $186,000 |
| Indonesia | $300,000 | $150,000 | $60,000 |
| Israel | $271,000 | $216,000 | $135,000 |
| Republic of Kazakhstan | $250,000 | $150,000 | $75,000 |
| Malaysia | $216,000 | $65,000 | $22,000 |
| Spain | $102,000 | $52,000 | $33,000 |
| France | $87,000 | $43,000 | $22,000 |
| South Korea | $45,000 | $25,000 | $18,000 |
| United States | $38,000 | $23,000 | $15,000 |
| Japan | $32,000 | $13,000 | $6,000 |
| Poland | $25,000 | $19,000 | $14,000 |
| Germany | $22,000 | $16,000 | $11,000 |
| Australia | $13,000 | $10,000 | $7,000 |
Not Every Athlete Gets a Monetary Reward
Other countries give out prizes, privileges, and other incentives for being a Paris Olympic medalist. For example, in South Korea, men have to mandatory military service. However, they get an exemption if they win an Olympic medal.
Another example is that in the Republic of Kazakhstan, medal winners get an apartment for their achievements. A gold gets them a 3-bedroom apartment, a silver a 2-bedroom apartment and bronze a 1-bedroom apartment.
Of course, athletes can also get endorsements deals which could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars if not millions.
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