Winning an Olympic gold comes with immortal glory and the nation’s adoration but for some Olympians there’s even more incentive to take home a gold medal.
Some countries pay their athletes eye-wattering sums of money for taking home a medal, but other (more tight) countries, including our own Great Britain, seem to think it’s the taking part that counts, paying their sports people bugger and all.
The stats giant Statista have estimated just how much cash countries splash on their athletes if they take home a piece of Olympic glory, minus sponsorship deals and endorsements, The Independent reports.
At the top of the pile, Joseph Schooling, the first Singaporean to win a gold medal with an incredible victory in the men’s 100-metre butterfly will get a whopping $753,000 in his bank account.
Meanwhile, the only gold that perpetual grump and transitional-national treasure Andy Murray will see is his tennis medal.
While you might think that cash incentives will push athletes to try a little harder, not everyone agrees and former Olympic swimmer Geoff Huegill says cash rewards don’t actually work.
He said:
A cash bonus for a medal is great and always appreciated by athletes but it’s not the sole focus, rather a nice way to be acknowledged for the efforts you have put into your chosen discipline.
Successful Olympians don’t just get money though, South Koreans get military exemptions while German sportsmen are given a lifetime supply of beer – let’s hope they save it for retirement!
Don’t go away thinking that British athletes are getting a short shrift though, they get a lot of funding through the National Lottery and sponsorship deals to help them get to the Olympic Games in the first place, so they’re not going hungry anytime soon.
More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.
Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.
He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.