It is the pinnacle of any Olympic athlete’s career.
Winning a gold, silver or bronze medal is the reward for years of sacrifice and grueling training sessions hidden from the public eye.
But the organizers will not pay any of the competitors participating in the Olympic Games in Tokyo that has had a cost of 15 thousand 400 million dollars.
Only the American television network NBC paid 7.7 billion for the broadcast rights to the summer and winter games through 2032, and has sold 1.25 billion in advertising for Tokyo 2020.
And the International Olympic Committee can make between $ 3 billion and $ 4 billion from television rights to the games, according to the Associated Press.
But that money is not shared with the 11,000 athletes who participate in the Olympic Games or with the 4,000 in the Paralympic Games.
The IOC, which promotes the games, does not award cash prizes for finishing in the top three in an event, but instead hands out the medals and sends an “Olympic diploma,” a certificate, to everyone who finishes in the top eight.
However, most Olympic medal winners receive a cash reward from their local Olympic committee.
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The Olympic and Paralympic Committee of United States pays team members 37,500 for each gold medal they win, 22,500 for each silver, and 15,000 for a bronze.
Some countries, mostly those that win very few medals, are much more generous with their prize money, according to moneyunder30.com.
Singapore pays its athletes 744,000 for a gold, 372,000 for silver and 286,000 for a bronze.
Hong Kong distributes 644 thousand dollars for a gold, 322 thousand dollars for a silver and 161 thousand dollars for a bronze.
Malaysia, in addition to providing 241,000 for gold, 72,200 for silver and 24,100 for bronze, also pays a monthly salary to its medalists for life.
This is around 1,182 for a gold, 709 for a silver, and 473 for a bronze.
Team Great Britain does not offer prizes for medal winners, but they receive an annual training salary and UK Sport provides £ 125 million of government and lottery funds to support the Olympic and Paralympic teams.
Competitors in the games, of course, make money from corporate endorsement deals, and Usain Bolt is estimated to have made $ 30 million a year while dominating sprinting.
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