bigjohntripod I didn't know this, but apparently some countries pay medallists.
Olympic medal bonuses
Here's how much money athletes get for finishing on the podium.A table showing how much athletes in 12 countries including the United States earn for winning gold, silver and bronze medals at the Olympics.
Countries Gold Silver Bronze
Singapore $737,000 $369,000 $184,000
Kazakhstan $250,000 $150,000 $75,000
Malaysia $236,000 $71,000 $24,000
Italy $213,000 $107,000 $71,000
The Philippines $200,000 $99,000 $40,000
Hungary $168,000 $126,000 $96,000
Brazil $49,000 $29,000 $20,000
Japan $45,000 $18,000 $9,000
USA $37,500 $22,500 $15,000
South Africa $37,000 $19,000 $7,000
Canada $16,000 $12,000 $8,000
Australia $15,000 $11,000 $7,000
Note: All figures are converted to USD and rounded up to the nearest 100,000 and 10,000 where appropriate.
Source: National Olympic Committees, Money Under 30
