How much money do medalists earn at the Winter Olympics?
A gold medal might be the ultimate goal for any athlete competing on the Olympic stage, but medalists get more than a shiny piece of hardware at the conclusion of the Games.
On Tuesday, American luger Chris Mazdzer, who won the silver medal in Men’s Single Luge, spoke with Megyn Kelly about what he’ll do with his winnings.
Mazdzer told the audience about his work with Classroom Champions, an organization that provides athletes mentorship opportunities within schools, and shared that he will donate $5,000 from his winnings to the program.
While it’s honorable for athletes to donate any amount of money to charity, we had no reference point for what percentage of Mazdzer’s overall winnings $5,000 would be. That led us to wonder, How much, exactly, do Olympians get paid when they medal?
The answer might surprise you.
First, it’s important to understand that by no means are Olympic careers sources of revenue for the athletes who pursue them.
If anything, athletes are stretched thin trying to support themselves as they journey to the Games; unlike in other countries, the United States federal government doesn’t fund the U.S. Olympic Committee.
“In preparing for the Olympic or Paralympic Games, U.S. athletes require funding for sport performance services, elite-level coaching, Olympic Training Centers and international competitions,” explains TeamUSA.org.
Many American Olympians rely on private resources, such as donations to the Team USA Fund, to make it to the Games, while some receive funding from their national governing bodies.
But stories of young Americans who go broke trying to medal at the Games are a dime a dozen. Figure skater Adam Rippon, who earned a bronze medal in the team event for figure skating at the Pyeongchang Games, used to “steal all the apples” from his gym because he couldn’t afford groceries:
A little over 5 years ago, I moved to California. I was broke AF, to the point where the little money I did have, I used to join the gym. I would steal all the apples they had out for all the gym members because sometimes I wouldn’t have enough $$$ for groceries.
— Adam Rippon (@AdamRippon) February 3, 2018
Rippon and other medalists in team events in the 2018 Winter Games will split the pot of prize money evenly. As for individuals, according to CNBC, “U.S. Olympians…will earn $37,500 for each gold medal they win this year, $22,500 for each silver and $15,000 for each bronze.”
While $37,500 sounds like a nice chunk of change for 2018 American gold medalists like Chloe Kim, Shaun White, Jamie Anderson, Red Gerard and Mikaela Shiffrin, it barely scratches the surface of what athletes in other countries earn.
For example, in Singapore, gold medalists earn a casual $1 million.
And while prominent, established athletes — like White, who owns his own company, Shaun White Enterprises — may not even need to cash their Olympics winnings right away, $37,500 is a handsome payday for an up-and-comer like 17-year-old Kim.
All of that brings us back to our original question regarding Mazdzer’s $5,000 donation to Classroom Champions. As a silver medalist, Mazdzer will earn $22,500, making his donation a whopping 22 percent of his overall winnings. That’s pretty spectacular.
Next: Best Olympian from each state
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