Olga Rypakova may look familiar even if you don’t know her name. Some call her the Princess of the Olympics or the Princess of Kazakhstan due to the traditional garment she wore when carrying her nation’s flag. Rypakova has a lot more skill up her sleeve than looking beautiful, though.
She’s a track and field athlete that could have won a good amount of money. Kazakhstan pays pretty well if its athletes win a medal. A gold medal earns $250,000, while silver has a $150,000 prize. The bronze, which Kazakhstan has four of, wins $75,000.
- Gold: $250,00
- Silver: $150,000
- Bronze: $75,000
Malaysia is another country that pays out pretty well. Goh Liu Ying was sure hoping to cash in on her skills. She’s consistently ranked as one of the top Malaysian badminton players. With her partner Chan Peng Soon, she is ranked among the top 10 mixed doubles players in the world. In the 2016 Olympics, she won silver.
This year, she wasn’t so lucky. Goh and Chan were eliminated in the group stage, but Malaysia has another badminton duo that walked away with bronze, Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik. They received $24,000 to split between them. Silver winners would have earned $71,000, and the gold is a whopping $236,000.
- Gold: $236,000
- Silver: $71,000
- Bronze: $24,000
Italy is one of the countries that are known to rack up medals. During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Italy has already won 30 medals. This includes six gold, nine silver, and 15 bronze. Among those winners is Lamont Marcell Jacobs. An Italian man never won an Olympic medal in the 100-meter dash until this athlete, but Jacobs changed that forever.
Jacobs set a European record in the men’s 100-meter by finishing in 9.80 seconds. That earned him the gold medal and tons of praise from the country. It also made him $213,000! Silver medalists earned $107,000, while bronze medalists bring home $71,000.
- Gold: $213,000
- Silver: $107,000
- Bronze: $71,000
The Philippines hasn’t won a lot of medals historically, but one weightlifter is changing that. Hidilyn Diaz first broke a 20-year medal drought in 2016 when she won the silver medal at the Rio Olympics. Then, in 2021, Hidilyn Diaz beat an even bigger record when she won the women’s 55kg gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics.
That’s the first gold medal the Philippines has ever won since they began competing in 1924. The Philippines gives their gold medalists $200,000 upon winning. A silver medal would earn $99,000, while bronze sits at $40,000. Diaz, however, walked away with more than $970,000, unlimited flights on two airlines, and a house.
- Gold: $200,000
- Silver: $99,000
- Bronze: $40,000
Canada has a total of 15 medals so far – four gold, four silver, and seven bronze. Since they’re in the top 15 of all medal winners for the 2020 Olympics, that’s something to be proud of! Of their athletes is Kylie Masse holds three of their medals alone! Masse holds silver in the 100m backstroke, silver in the 200m backstroke, and bronze in the 4x100 medley relay.
Despite being so close to the USA, Canada barely pays half of what we pay. For gold, winners get $16,000. That’s alright, but it feels like it could be higher. Silver earns $12,000, but bronze is where things get a little sad. For someone earning a bronze, they get just $8,000. Considering how much it costs to get to the Olympics, this probably doesn’t do a whole lot.
- Gold: $16,000
- Silver: $12,000
- Bronze: $8,000
Aron Szilagyi doesn’t mess around when it comes to winning medals. This athlete has made it to the Olympics a shocking four times, and there are no signs he’s going to slow down. In the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Olympics, Szilagyi has walked away with at least one gold medal – that’s sure to boost his bank account!
Hungary pays $168,000 for gold medal winners, but Szilagyi gets more than that with all his accomplishments, as he also won bronze this year. Silver winners get $126,000, and bronze medalists earn $96,000. Wonder if it stacks? Hungary so far has won four gold, four silver, and three bronze medals total at the Tokyo Olympics.
- Gold: $168,000
- Silver: $126,000
- Bronze: $96,000
Britain was more than happy when Max Whitlock went to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Why? The guy can’t help but win medals – maybe it’s his charming smile. Whitlock is an artistic gymnast and a six-time Olympic gymnast. Over the years, Whitlock has only gotten better, and during the 2020 Olympics, he won yet another gold!
You’d think that Britain would pay their people a great reward for winning a medal, but they don’t pay their athletes a dime for winning a medal. They’re one of the few countries that do that! However, that doesn’t mean athletes don’t earn a dime. They all get a $36,000 per year stipend for training for the Olympics. Guess that’s even better!
- Gold: Nothing!
- Silver: Nothing!
- Bronze: Nothing!
Brazil is one of the surprising ones. We thought they would pay out pretty well out of all the countries on the list, but it doesn’t seem so. Does Rebeca Andrade know? This accomplished gymnast walked away with a gold in the vault portion of gymnastics and a silver in the all-around portion.
It’s no surprise considering she’s won the gold at the Pan American Championship more than once! Either way, she was probably happy to earn the gold medal prize of $49,000. The silver medal got her an additional $29,000. Bronze is just a mere $20,000. Sure, it’s not pocket change, but it isn’t too much compared to the other countries.
- Gold: $49,000
- Silver: $29,000
- Bronze: $20,000
Japan is one of the few countries on the list that doesn’t really pay its medal winners too much. Maybe that’s because they get so many? So far, Japan has had 40 medal winners, including 21 gold, seven silver, and 12 bronze. Among those is the Yui Ohashi, a powerful swimmer for Japan.
So far, Ohashi has won two gold medals – one for the women’s 200-meter individual medley and another for the 400-meter individual medley. For those wins, she gets $45,000 a pop. That’s pretty good, but it drops drastically from there. Silver gets $18,000, and bronze? Bronze gets a mere $9,000.
- Gold: $45,000
- Silver: $18,000
- Bronze: $9,000
South Africa isn’t usually up there when it comes to medal wins. This year, they’ve managed to earn three medals in total – one gold and two silvers. The gold medalist has a lot to be proud of, however. Tatjana Schoenmaker earned gold during the 200-meter breaststroke, but that isn’t even all.
Schoenmaker set a new world record for her time of 2:18.95. This isn’t the first time she broke records, either. She set a new Olympic record and a new African record in the 100-meter breaststroke during the prelims. Schoenmaker also has a silver medal for the 100-meter breaststroke. For her gold, she earned $37,000. Silver’s prize money drops to $19,000, while bronze is just $7,000.
- Gold: $37,000
- Silver: $19,000
- Bronze: $7,000
We’re sincerely hoping Australia does something more for their athletes in terms of perks because their payouts are low, low, low. So far, Australia has a total of 36 medals – 15 gold, four silver, and 17 bronze. That’s pretty impressive, but the real impressive thing is that one Olympian holds seven of their 36. Emma McKeon is truly one of the hardest people to beat at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
McKeon has seven medals, four gold and three bronze, and she’s getting paid for every single one of them. For each of her gold medals, she’s getting $15,000. For each of her bronzes, she gets $7,000. She doesn’t have a silver, but other athletes get $11,000.
- Gold: $15,000
- Silver: $11,000
- Bronze: $7,000
This year, India isn’t messing around. It sent the most competitors ever to the 2020 Olympics – 124 athletes. So naturally, they wanted to cinch some medals, and they did! The country has earned five medals, including two silver and three bronzes. One of those medal winners is Saikhom Mirabai Chanu. Chanu won silver at the 2020 Olympics for weightlifting in the 49kg category.
Before winning her medal at the Olympics, she was proud of her 2017 gold medal at the World Weightlifting Championship in Anaheim, California. India also pays out pretty nicely for their Olympic medal winners. Gold gets roughly $101,000, silver earns $54,000, and bronze receives $34,000.
- Gold: $101,000
- Silver: $54,000
- Bronze: $34,000
Bangladesh pays its athletes pretty well if they win, possibly because they don’t have a ton of people at the events. In total, there are four men and two women that made it to the 2020 Olympics. This seems pretty par for the course, and unfortunately, Bangladesh has yet to win a medal at any event.
Junayna Ahmed participated in the 50m freestyle didn’t win a medal. Hopefully, Bangladesh will send out an athlete that will break the drought and win the country a medal. If they did win, gold would earn $300,000, silver would win $150,000, and bronze would receive $100,000.
- Gold: $300,000
- Silver: $150,000
- Bronze: $100,000
Kosovo is a little country that can boast quite a few great athletes. One of those is Majlinda Kelmendi. She became the first Kosovan athlete to win a medal at the Olympic Games. Kelmendi earned gold in the women’s 52kg category at the 2016 Rio Olympics. This year, she was hoping to do the same, but sadly it wouldn’t happen.
Hungary’s Reka Pupp defeated Kelmendi. No worries! There’s always next time. If she had won, Kosovo pays out pretty well. A gold will earn the athlete $119,000. Silver sits at $71,000, and we can’t forget bronze! That gets the athlete $47,300. The interesting thing about Kosovo is that the coach will also get a prize – half as much as the athlete.
- Gold: $119,000
- Silver: $71,000
- Bronze: $47,300
(David Finch/Getty Images Sports/Getty Images; Armend Nimani/AFP/Getty Images)
Yes, Hong Kong is considered separate from China! Hong Kong first started competing on their own in 1952, although they were still considered a British colony at that point. Eventually, they broke away and became their own Olympic Committee. We’re glad because they have some strong contenders. Edgar Cheung Ka-long is just one of them, and he certainly made a show of it.
He’s been winning medals since 2014, and this year at the 2020 Olympics, he won a gold. But, that’s not all. His performance increased fencing attendance so much they’re calling it the “Ka-long effect.” Winners also get paid out very well. Gold winners get $644,000, silver earns them $322,000, and bronze winners receive $161,000.
- Gold: $644,000
- Silver: $322,000
- Bronze: $161,000
The United States is smack-dab in the middle, meaning we neither pay the highest nor the lowest. That’s not a bad place to be, but we get it, considering how many medal winners we have! We could list them all, but we’d be here all day. Whether it’s swimming, gymnastics, fencing, or track and field, we have athletes to be proud of.
Valarie Allman is one of the track and field gold medal winners we have. She doesn’t mess around when she hits the field! Allman won the gold medal for the discus throw. For their accomplishments, the gold medalists walk away with $37,500. Silver gets $22,500, and bronze can boast $15,000. So far, the USA has the most medals in the 2020 Olympics (91).
- Gold: $37,500
- Silver: $22,500
- Bronze: $15,000
One of the biggest issues with the Olympics this year is that Russia is competing under the ROC banner. It’s a workaround because Russia is currently banned from the Olympics, so how is this fair? The short answer? It isn’t. The Olympic Committee decided that the athletes should be able to compete because the country was to be punished and not the competitors. Whatever.
Nikita Nagornyy is one of the athletes participating under the ROC banner. He’s an artistic gymnast and a two-time Olympian (having represented Russia in 2016). This year, he won a gold and two bronzes. The gold earned him $61,000, while the bronze medals are worth $26,000 each. Had he won silver, he would have gotten $38,000.
- Gold: $61,000
- Silver: $38,000
- Bronze: $26,000
France has won 27 medals so far, including seven gold. One of those winners is Romain Cannone, a fencer who won gold in the individual category. The funny thing is that he wasn’t even originally going to compete! The original competitor tested positive for a diuretic and was ruled out, which gave Cannone passage to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Those athletes are going to get a significant payout, but silver and bronze? Not so much. For his gold, Cannone won an additional $65,000. That’s quite a bit! However, the silver and bronze amounts drop drastically from there, with silver earning $25,000 and bronze being $15,000.
- Gold: $65,000
- Silver: $25,000
- Bronze: $15,000
Germany has managed to stay above the top 10 in the most award winners in the 2020 Olympics, something they’re very proud of. Of their 34 medals, Germany has nine golds, nine silvers, and 16 bronzes. One of their skilled Olympians is Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, who won gold at the individual and team dressage.
Bredow-Werndl has been training for this day pretty much all her life. She has a clear bond with her horse, which obviously helps her out a ton during competitions. For her win, she earned $22,000 (most of which will surely go to taking care of her equestrian BFF). For the Olympians that won silver, they got $17,000, while bronze received $11,000.
- Gold: $22,000
- Silver: $17,000
- Bronze: $11,000
Indonesia pays out quite a hefty sum for winning a medal! That must be a huge incentive for athletes, and it shows. Indonesia has cinched five total medals, including one gold, one silver, and three bronze. Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu earned the gold for their women’s doubles badminton. We’re sure they were happy to see their winnings.
For the gold, they received $749,000, although it’s surely split between the two as many other countries do. Silver Olympians get $378,000, and bronze medalists receive $188,000. That’s a significant jump from 2016, when the gold medalists earned just $346,000. On top of those winnings, medalists also get $1,400 per month for life.
- Gold: $746,000
- Silver: $378,000
- Bronze: $188,000
Taiwan isn’t a stranger to winning medals. During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, they won two gold medals, four silver, and six bronze! That’s a hefty sum to walk away with. One of those gold medals was won by Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin, who won the first badminton gold for the country.
Taiwan, although they participate in the Olympics as “Chinese Taipei,” pays quite a bit for winning a medal. For gold, the medalists receive $719,000. I’m sure Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin are happy to walk away with more than half a mil! For silver, medalists get $252,000, and bronze wins $180,000.
- Gold: $719,000
- Silver: $252,000
- Bronze: $180,000
This year, Spain made out like a bandit. They got 17 medals, including three golds. The others were eight silver and six bronze. One of the gold medal winners was Sandra Sánchez, but no one is too surprised. Sandra has won several golds throughout her career in karate.
Since 2015, she's participated in six European Championships and won gold every single time. Spain was ecstatic when she qualified – no surprise there, either! – and even more so when she got her medal. Spain gives $110,000 for gold, $56,000 for silver, and finally, $35,000 for a bronze win.
- Gold: $110,000
- Silver: $56,000
- Bronze: $35,000
Turkey wasn’t one of the highest medal winners at the Olympics, but they also sent a sixth of the number of competitors compared to America. Out of the 103 competitors, they won 13 medals, including two golds! One silver winner was Eray Samdan, who competed in Kumite (one of the three main sections of karate).
The interesting part was Turkey didn't participate in many of the common Olympic games, like track and field sections. Instead, their athletes participated in mostly hand-to-hand sports like karate, boxing, taekwondo, and wrestling. The gold winners got $380,000, silver received $230,000, while bronze walked away with $115,000.
- Gold: $380,000
- Silver: $230,000
- Bronze: $115,000
Serbia did a pretty good job at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The country earned nine medals, three of them being gold. That’s not bad at all! Athletes also earned one silver and five bronze. One of those winners was Milica Mandic, who participated in the +67 kg taekwondo competitions. Talk about a skilled athlete!
Mandic has been to two Olympic Games and won gold both times – both in the same competition. She's actually been competing since 2008. While she started out with a bronze at the World Junior Championship, she quickly won her first gold at the 2012 London Games. For her win, Serbia paid out $82,300. Silver, on the other hand, earned $70,500, and bronze received $58,700.
- Gold: $82,300
- Silver: $70,500
- Bronze: $58,700
Estonia isn’t typically the first country people think of when it comes to the Olympics. However, considering how much the country pays out, they definitely should be motivated! Still, Estonia doesn’t send a lot of athletes to the Olympics on average. This year, Erika Kirpu was one of the gold medal winners.
Kirpu is an épée fencer, which is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport. She, and her team, proudly earned the gold. For that, they get $117,500! On top of that, for teams of four or more (which Kirpu was on), the prize money is doubled. Silver winners get $82,300, and bronze walks away with $53,000.
- Gold: $117,500
- Silver: $82,300
- Bronze: $53,000
Thailand has a massive payout for its athletes, and that amount doubled for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Despite this, the country only walked away with two medals – one gold and one bronze. The gold winner was Panipak Wongpattanakit. She participated in the Women's 49 kg taekwondo event. Great job, Panipak!
Wongpattanakit, aka “Tennis,” earned Thailand the very first taekwondo medal. For that win, For Tennis, this is just another to add to her roster. She's won eight gold medals all over the world for her skill. Thanks to her 2020 win, she also walked away with $665,150. While Thailand had no silver winners, they could have won $219,000. Finally, bronze won $146,000.
- Gold: $665,150
- Silver: $219,000
- Bronze: $146,000
Morocco isn’t typically a big winner. In fact, they don’t even really send a lot of competitors. This year, the country sent a total of 48 athletes. Compare that to America, which sent 613 men and women! Morocco shows that you don’t need to send a ton to walk away with a medal. This year, they won a gold thanks to Soufiane El Bakkali.
Soufiane El Bakkali is a steeplechase runner, an event that’s typically dominated by African athletes. El Bakkali has been competing since 2014 and has gotten consistently better over time. In 2018, he won his first gold at the Mediterranean games, but so far, his Olympic medal is the one he's most proud of. For his win, El Bakkali also received $225,000. While Morocco didn’t have any winners for silver and bronze, they were willing to pay out $140,600 and $84,400 respectively.
- Gold: $225,000
- Silver: $140,600
- Bronze: $84,400
Sweden has some pretty amazing athletes, including Sarah Sjöström. Sjöström is a swimmer with a specialty in spring freestyle and butterfly events. She's currently the world record holder for the 50-meter freestyle (long course), the 100-meter freestyle (long course), and the 200-meter freestyle (short course), and three others!
Clearly, Sjöström is a stiff competitor. This year, she won silver for competing in the 50-meter freestyle. Total, Sweden earned nine medals – three gold and six silver. What do the athletes get paid? Nothing! From what we gather, they don’t even get a stipend. They fight for honor when it comes to medal wins.
- Gold: Nothing!
- Silver: Nothing!
- Bronze: Nothing!
South Korea sent a massive 237 athletes to the Olympics this year, but the event was practically on their doorstep. Those athletes earned the country 20 medals in total – six bronze, four silver, and 10 bronze. Choi In-Jeong was one of the fencers that won South Korea a silver medal. This skilled athlete participated in the épée fencing.
This wasn't the first time she's been to the Olympics, either. She also went to the 2012 Olympics, where she also earned a silver. In the Asian Championships, however, she dominated and walked away with golds. For her win, South Korea paid out a little over $30,400. If she had won gold, she would have gotten $54,700. Then bronze winners received $21,700.
- Gold: $54,700
- Silver: $30,400
- Bronze: $21,700
Singapore has tons of great Olympians, and they’re more than happy to pay out for any medal – much more than any other country out there! The only unfortunate part is that Singapore has yet to win a medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. This athlete is Tan Sze En – an artistic Gymnast from Stanford that is participating for Singapore.
She suffered an injury early on that has made it pretty hard to cinch that gold medal, especially when she’s up against the current competition. That being said, if an athlete does win, Singapore will pay them $744,000! That’s quite a hefty sum! Silver gets quite a bit as well, coming in at $372,000. Lastly, if an athlete is to win a bronze medal, they would receive $286,000.
- Gold: $744,000
- Silver: $372,000
- Bronze: $286,000
