How much money for gold at the Olympics. How much will our athletes receive for Olympic medals? Modest, but there will be money

Olympic champions receive only honor and respect from the IOC. However, the problem of cash bonuses at the Games has been successfully resolved within countries that equip athletes to defend the colors of their flags.

Oleg SHAMONAYEV

Long gone are the days when, for a modest advertising contract with an equipment manufacturer, an athlete could be deprived of an Olympic medal or not allowed to compete, accusing him of violating ethics amateur sports. The battles between amateurs and pros, fortunately, are history, and now the Games have moved quite far in terms of working with sponsors.

Nevertheless, the Olympics to this day remain the only top-level competitions whose organizers do not pay any fees to the winners. However, bonuses for medals are now officially received by almost all participants in the Games. Some countries even flaunt the size of their prize money, showing the world how highly they value olympic awards. However, everything is relative. The biggest bonuses are usually awarded to teams that have little chance of showing at the Games high result. For example, for championship title at the 2012 Summer Olympics in Azerbaijan they promised $770,000, and in Singapore - a million. But we must understand that in 18 years of independence, Azerbaijanis have won only 6 gold medals at the Games (including two in London 2012), and Singaporeans have not won a single top award in 56 years.

Champion in total payments to Olympic medalists in last years is Russia. Among the leaders team competition our bonuses are the largest. Starting from the 2008 Games, about 100,000 euros are paid from the state budget to Olympic champions (currently prize money is awarded in domestic currency and amounts to 4 million rubles). The tradition of awards for medals from the government of the country (usually tax-free) exists exclusively in the territory former USSR. In most other countries, money for medalists is provided by national Olympic committees, sports federations and societies, or local authorities. However, in Russia all these structures do not stand aside either.

For example, the authorities of St. Petersburg promised the champions of Sochi 2014 a bonus of 5 million rubles, and in Novosibirsk, gold holders will receive a subsidy of 2.2 million rubles for the purchase of housing. And this despite the fact that some of our athletes simultaneously represent two regions and can receive a double set of bonuses. The Russian Olympians Support Fund, established by large domestic businessmen, usually gives expensive foreign cars to the Games winners. In general, in Russian Olympic medalists a real golden rain falls.

Previously, representatives of “low-budget” sports complained that they received salaries “once every four years.” Now, thanks to scholarships, grants and bets, none of our Olympians are in poverty between the Games. But this did not make the price of the medal any less.

Compared to other big sports powers, our financial incentives for Olympians look solid. However, it is wrong to say that at the Games we compete with unmercenary enthusiasts.

In many European countries it is very a complex system financing of elite sports, so that Olympians receive money from different sources. Including bonuses for medals.

So, in Germany, in addition to prize money from the Sports Assistance Fund, representatives of ski disciplines can earn 25,000 euros from the Association of Ski Disciplines for winning in Sochi. In addition, all German athletes are under the wing of the Ministry of the Interior and often stand on the bets in its structures.

Norway, UK and New Zealand Olympians are not officially paid any medal bonuses. However, the British are funded depending on their results under the program Team GB , which receives money from the National Lottery. And the Norwegian Ski Association has at its disposal a substantial cash fund, distributed at the end of the season, including with an eye to the results of the Games.

Chapter Olympic Committee Sweden's Stefan Lindeberg recently announced that there are no prizes for the winners from his country in Sochi. However, it is known that the Swedish ski federation set a record bonus for itself - 200 thousand crowns for gold at the 2014 Olympics.

IN North America prizes for Olympians successful performance National Olympic committees mostly pay. The state supports its champions only indirectly - through a system of tax incentives for sports structures and patrons. In addition, thanks to a well-developed advertising market, athletes have the opportunity to “monetize” their success at the Games by entering into sponsorship contracts. The US NOC even organizes special courses in which athletes are taught to communicate with potential advertisers and “sell their name” as a brand.

Korean sponsors give very serious prize money to their stars. For example, thanks to her victory in Vancouver 2010, figure skater Yuna Kim received a “golden bonus” of one million dollars from the commercial partners of the Korean Skating Union.

The most mysterious bonus system is in China, which has been one of the leaders in summer types sports and gradually rises in winter disciplines. There is no official information about prize money in this country, but according to indirect data it is known that the Olympic champion here can qualify for a prize from the country's Olympic Committee in the amount of 500 thousand yuan (about 82 thousand dollars). In addition, all Games heroes receive gifts from sponsors and local authorities in China, and are also exempt from taxes. Taking into account the fact that almost all sports system China exists on regional money, it can be assumed that the Chinese “golden rain” pouring on the champions is quite comparable to the Russian one.

PRIZE AWARDS FOR SOCHI 2014 MEDALS IN SOME COUNTRIES (in US dollars)

* - paid by the national ski federation.

Azerbaijan will be represented in Sochi by five athletes (three alpine skiers and two figure skaters), who have very slim chances of winning. But if a miracle happens, the Olympic champion from this country will receive a record for Sochi 2014, 510 thousand dollars. Moreover, even the silver award of the National Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan exceeds the amount of payments from other countries for the championship - 255 thousand dollars. For bronze, a member of the national team was promised 130 thousand dollars.

Kazakhstan will pay $250 thousand to the winner of the competition, the silver medalist can receive $200 thousand, and the bronze medalist can receive $75 thousand. At the last Olympics in Vancouver, Kazakhstan won one silver medal.

According to the presidential decree Belarus(in 2010, athletes from this country won one medal of each value), for gold medal athletes will receive 150 thousand dollars, for silver - 75 thousand, and for bronze 50 thousand dollars.

IN Italy(one gold, one silver and three bronze in Vancouver) the winner of the gold award will receive 140 thousand euros (about 189 thousand dollars), the athlete who won silver - 75 thousand euros (about 101 thousand dollars), the bronze medalist - 50 thousand euros (about 67 one thousand dollars).

Ukrainian athletes who did not win a single medal in 2010, if successful in Sochi, will receive about a million hryvnia (about 125 thousand dollars) for each gold medal, about 680 thousand hryvnia (85 thousand dollars) for silver, about 470 thousand for bronze hryvnia (about 58.75 thousand dollars).

Hostess of the 2014 Games, Russia(three gold, five silver, seven bronze awards and only 11th overall team place in Vancouver), established a monetary reward in the amount of: (about 113 thousand dollars) - for a gold medal; 2.5 million rubles (about 71 thousand dollars) - for a silver medal; 1.7 million rubles (about 42 thousand dollars) - for a bronze one.

Lost to Russia four years ago one place in the medal standings with two gold, three silver and six bronze medals France will reward the Sochi 2014 champion with a payment of 30 thousand euros (about 40 thousand dollars), the winner of the silver medal will receive 20 thousand euros (about 27 thousand dollars), and the third prize-winner will receive 13 thousand euros (about 17 thousand dollars).

Failed in 2010 Finland(one silver and four bronze) is ready to pay its athletes 30 thousand euros (about 40 thousand dollars) for a gold medal, 15 thousand euros (about 20 thousand dollars) for silver and 10 thousand euros (about 13 thousand dollars) for a bronze medal.

Team members Armenia who have never won medals before Winter Olympics, if they are among the top three winners in Sochi, they will be able to receive 30 thousand dollars for a gold medal, 20 thousand for a silver award and 10 thousand for bronze.

Athletes from Germany(second place in Vancouver with 10 gold, 13 silver and 7 bronze medals) will receive 20 thousand euros (about 27 thousand dollars) for winning the 2014 Olympics. Winners of silver and bronze medals can count on 15 thousand (20 thousand dollars) and 10 thousand euros (about 13 thousand dollars), respectively.

"Bronze medalist" medal standings last Olympics USA(nine gold, 15 silver and 13 bronze medals) promise to reward their athletes with bonuses in the amount of 25 thousand dollars for gold, 15 thousand for silver and 10 thousand dollars for bronze.

Canada, which confidently won the 2010 home Olympics with 14 gold medals, awards its champions based on the results of Sochi 2014

According to established tradition, Russian champions and prize-winners Olympic Games donate foreign-made cars. At the last two Olympics, Russian athletes have been awarded products from the German automobile industry. After London 2012 there were Audi - photos, after Sochi 2014 Vasilievsky Spusk took over Mercedes:

Photo by @iTabriz

On Thursday, February 27, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev presented the winners and medalists of the Winter Olympic Games with the keys to a Mercedes car.

As an Interfax correspondent reports, the ceremony is taking place on Vasilyevsky Spusk, where a special tent was built and 45 Mercedes SUVs were displayed.

The gold medal winners received the keys to a GL class SUV worth from 5 million 300 thousand rubles. Silver medalists are ML class cars worth from 3 million 60 thousand, and bronze medalists are GLK class Mercedes costing from 2 million 150 thousand rubles.

Total in Sochi Russian athletes won 33 medals, including 13 gold, thus setting a record for the number of medals won by Russia in one Olympics.

Let us recall that cash payments from the federal government to the champions and medalists of the Sochi 2014 Olympics are as follows:

Olympic champion - four million rubles.

Silver at the Sochi 2014 Olympics - 2.5 million rubles.

Bronze - 1.7 million rubles.

Federal awards are just the tip of the iceberg of material benefits that the Russian medalists of the home Olympic Games in Sochi 2014 will receive. According to official data, after the Olympic Games in London 2012, regional awards to winners reached one million US dollars.

Our newly minted Russians, heroes of the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Viktor An and Victor Wild, were convinced that life in Rus' is good. An earned 12 million rubles and a Mercedes GL, and Wild earned 8 million and a Mercedes GL.

In the USA, they will pay 25 thousand dollars for the Olympic gold medal in Sochi 2014; Wild would have been owed 1 million 800 thousand at the current exorbitant dollar exchange rate. And Vic would also have to pay tax - $9,900 for each victory in Sochi 2014 PLUS tax on real precious metals in each medal! The Sochi gold medal costs $566 and is made primarily of silver. Total tax - $20,000.

Result: 1 million 80 thousand rubles and no Mercedes. :) (Currently, the US Congress is preparing a bill that would exempt Olympians from the tax on Olympic payments, but it is not yet a fact that it will be adopted).

IN South Korea, according to our information, the state is twice as generous, for gold - 50,000 US dollars. But still this is 2.2 times less than in Russia and again no Mercedes from the Prime Minister! Maybe Hyundai will be generous if it wants. So Ahn is telling the truth when he says that all Korean athletes are jealous of him. :)

I wonder which regions the (former) Korean short track speed skater and American snowboarder represent and what kind of payments they will receive for medals from regional budgets?

More information about the Russian sports financing system:

Maya GUSEINOVA

Why are gold medalists returning from the Olympics paid such huge sums and given such expensive gifts? The Olympics are the main event in sports world and every athlete who trains diligently in his discipline always considers the limit of his dreams olympic gold. The reason is banal and can even be called selfish - everyone wants to write their name in history, but there are no international-class sports tournaments, victory in which would be valued as highly as at the Olympics. That is why there is such fierce competition among athletes and world championships bring out the best of the best at the stage of the main competition in their lives. Most countries with developed economies do their best to reward their athletes who win medals at the Olympics. How much do Olympic champions receive for a gold medal in Russia and other countries? Let's remember the official data on payments to champions.

How much did Olympic champions receive for gold in 2016?

Gold medal: 4 million rubles,
- silver medal: 2.7 million rubles,
- bronze medal: 1.7 million rubles.

Let us recall that exactly the same monetary payments were made to the Olympians who took the award at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. That is, the gold received at least 4 million rubles Olympic medalist in Russia. Next come incentive payments, the founders of which are, as a rule, city authorities who reward their fellow countrymen. For example, the mayor of the capital of Ingushetia gave judo gold medalist Khasan Khalmurzaev a new apartment in Magas in 2016. Foil player Artur Akhmatkhuzin, who won gold in the same year in foil, received an apartment in Khimki. In total, the Moscow region authorities that year allocated incentive cash payments for gold of 1 million rubles, for silver - 700,000, for bronze - 500,000.

The highest prices paid for Olympic gold in the CIS countries that year were in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, $250,000 each. But, by the way, Azerbaijani athletes were able to take only 1 gold, Kazakh athletes - 3, Russians - 19.

How much were athletes paid for winning a gold medal in 2018?

This year, the Foundation donated German BMW cars to the Olympians at the following rate:

For gold: BMW X5 xDrive30d,
- for silver: BMW X4 xDrive30d,
- for bronze: bBMW X4 xDrive20d