Gold Medal Payout by Country 2026

The International Olympic Committee does not give cash rewards to Olympic medalists. However, some countries reward athletes with bonus money because they won an Olympic medal.

The Largest Country Medal Payouts

Singapore

Singapore gold medalists earn about $737,000. Payments for contestants who earn bronze medals exceed $180,000. It’s one of the largest gold medal payouts in the history of the Olympic Games.

However, this country hasn’t won a gold medal since 2016. They also did not participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Hong Kong (City and Special Administrative Region)

This piece of land has a unique governmental setup, much like an individual country has. It’s a city in China that would offer a payout of at least $641,000 to its gold medal winners as of 2022. They did win gold in 2021 (originally supposed to be the 2020 Summer Olympics), but they didn’t win any gold in 2022 winter games.

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan has only participated in the Olympics since 1996. However, they achieved 15 gold medals, at least as reported in 2021. They planned to award at least $250,000 to contestants that went to Tokyo and won a gold medal. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. They do, however, have 15 gold medals on record.

Malaysia

Malaysia offered a payout of at least $238,000 to gold medal winners as of 2022. They reportedly didn’t specify any amount for any of the other levels of winners.

When someone from this country won bronze in Tokyo, there’s no word of if they did receive any compensation from this country’s government. This nation has won a total of four silver and one bronze as of 2021 but didn’t win any gold in the 2022 games.

Italy

Italy doesn’t pay out as much as others do for gold metals (about $201,000 as of 2022), but it will have to pay about 2.7 million as promised to its contestants. In the 2022 Winter Olympics, the country won 17 medals total, and two athletes will receive the gold payout. Seven more will receive $101,000 for silver medals, and eight players will receive $67,000 for their bronze medals.

Who Won the Most Olympic Medals?

In 2022, Norway actually won the most Olympic gold medals during the Winter Olympics, and this was the second time in a row. However, they don’t compensate for medal-winning.

Instead, Norway provides financial assistance to participants who dedicate themselves to training for it. Those athletes can be said to be paid out their incentives in advance.

For the most medals of all time, the United States won the most overall, as reported by 2022. This country has won the most gold in the history of the games too.

How Much Does the U.S. Pay Out for Gold Medals?

A 2022 report indicates that the U.S. pays out about $37,500 for gold. It is not known why they don’t pay as much as other countries. It could be because they have to divide the winner’s budget among all the players. Olympic gold doesn’t seem to have the same value in America as in some other countries.