ladbible homepage
ladbible homepage
  • iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK
    • US
    • World
    • Ireland
    • Australia
    • Science
    • Crime
    • Weather
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV
    • Film
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • Netflix
    • Disney
  • Sport
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Lifestyle
  • Money
  • Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • SPORTbible
  • Tyla
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
How much Olympic athletes get paid and it might shock you

Home> News> Sport

Published 11:17 29 Jul 2024 GMT+1

How much Olympic athletes get paid and it might shock you

The 2024 Paris Olympics will have prize money for the winning athletes

Tom Earnshaw

Tom Earnshaw

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

Regarded as the most prestigious sporting event in the calendar, the 2024 Paris Olympics will see hundreds more gold medals handed out to some of the greatest athletes on the planet.

From diving to cycling and tennis to breakdancing, it will see athletes compete across 32 different sports in their quest for the top prize in the French capital city.

And for the first time ever, there's more at stake with the money to be won upped significantly from previous events. But that's not for everyone, with the relationship between prize money and the Olympics a complicated one.

Do Olympic athletes get paid?

The Olympics has a bit of a weird relationship with money.

Advert

Officially, the International Olympic Committee doesn't pay any of the athletes directly. The committee also don't give out prize money for those who place in the medal positions.

There's a reason for this, with organisers saying the philosophy of the Olympic Games is one of amateur competition.

This isn't about commercialism, they say, but rather focusing solely on sporting successes.

The mascot for the 2024 Paris Olympics (Kevin Voigt/GettyImages)
The mascot for the 2024 Paris Olympics (Kevin Voigt/GettyImages)

How do athletes survive?

Athletes very often get funding from their national Olympic committee to fund their lifestyles and training regimes.

There are also sponsors and endorsements which come to those who have a wider appeal.

The likes of Usain Bolt, the fastest man on Earth, received $10 million a year through a partnership with Puma; a deal that continued into his retirement.

The vast majority of deals wont be anywhere near this, though.

In the UK, the likes of Jack Laugher - a gold medal winning athlete for Team GB - gets £28,000 of funding to keep his Olympic dreams alive.

Only certain sports will have prize money up for grabs (Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
Only certain sports will have prize money up for grabs (Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

Changes for 2024 and new prize money

For the 2024 Paris Olympics, athletes will be given prizes for winning a gold medal.

It wont be for every athlete sadly. Instead, it'll just go to those competing in the athletics events.

World Athletics is funding this, with $50,000 (£38,800) given to every gold medallist.

The International Boxing Association is following in the footsteps of athletics by also offering prize money.

We're talking $50,000 for golds, $25,000 (£19,400) for silver and $12,500 (£9,700) for bronze.

The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations has come out against the money on offer, saying it 'undermines the values of Olympism and the uniqueness of the Games'.

In a statement, it said: "One cannot and should not put a price on an Olympic gold medal and, in many cases, Olympic medalists indirectly benefit from commercial endorsements.

"This disregards the less privileged athletes lower down the final standings."

Featured Image Credit: BERTRAND GUAY / AFP via Getty Images / Artur Widak / NurPhoto via Getty Images

Topics: Money, Olympics, World News, Boxing

Tom Earnshaw
Tom Earnshaw

Tom joined LADbible Group in 2024, currently working as SEO Lead across all brands including LADbible, UNILAD, SPORTbible, Tyla, UNILAD Tech, and GAMINGbible. He moved to the company from Reach plc where he enjoyed spells as a content editor and senior reporter for one of the country's most-read local news brands, LancsLive. When he's not in work, Tom spends his adult life as a suffering Manchester United supporter after a childhood filled with trebles and Premier League titles. You can't have it all forever, I suppose.

X

@TREarnshaw

Recommended reads

Experts issue stark warning over steroids as ‘silent killer’ cancer surges in healthy men(Getty Stock Images)Fitness influencer dies after vanishing during triathlonInstagram/Mara FláviaUK vaping and smoking rule changes in full as costs increase significantly(Getty Stock Images)Why Euphoria doesn't show Zendaya sex scene in new episodeHBO

Advert

Choose your content:

10 hours ago
12 hours ago
  • (Getty Stock Images)
    10 hours ago

    Experts issue stark warning over steroids as ‘silent killer’ cancer surges in healthy men

    Experts are concerned about the link between steroids and a certain type of cancer in healthy young men

    News
  • Instagram/Mara Flávia
    10 hours ago

    Fitness influencer dies after vanishing during triathlon

    Fitness influencer Mara Flavia disappeared under the water during the triathlon

    News
  • (Getty Stock Images)
    10 hours ago

    UK vaping and smoking rule changes in full as costs increase significantly

    Changes to UK smoking and vaping laws are set to come into effect from 1 October

    News
  • Instagram/Rielle UK
    12 hours ago

    X-Factor finalist charged with attempted murder after car crash involving three people

    Police have charged her following the crash

    News

    breaking

  • NASA astronaut reveals surprising truth when asked how much they get paid
  • Olympian shares phrase athletes use before they get lucky in Olympic village
  • Amazon driver explains exactly how much they get paid each day regardless of how many parcels they deliver
  • Insane payslip leaks revealing how much pilots actually get paid monthly