SINGAPORE: New to the sports scene, some netizens were shocked when they discovered how much Singaporean athletes can earn for winning Olympic medals.
According to the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC), athletes who clinch a gold medal at the Olympics are rewarded with a jaw-dropping S$1,000,000!
Those who secure a silver medal pocket S$500,000, and bronze medalists walk away with S$250,000.
For team events, the stakes are equally high. Teams that win gold are awarded S$1,500,000 while silver-winning teams receive S$750,000, and bronze medalists earn S$375,000.
In the realm of team sports, the rewards reach even greater heights, with gold medalists receiving S$2,000,000, silver medalists S$1,000,000, and bronze medalists S$500,000.
These incentives are funded by the Tote Board Group, which includes the Tote Board, Singapore Pools, and the Singapore Turf Club, and are taxable.
Over on Reddit, this immediately became a hot topic after the Paris Olympics 2024 officially kicked off on Friday, July 26. One netizen wrote, “No wonder all these Olympians are high SES (socioeconomic status). Almost can fit in SgHENRY.”
According to Pubity, this is how much money a Singaporean can make per Olympic Medal.
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Another quipped, probably an elderly person wrote, “Uncle training for Olympics nao!!! Any good sports to recommend? Best is don’t need to train so much and easy to win one.”
However, a few expressed concern that such financial incentives could ruin the spirit of the games, saying that it might shift the focus from sportsmanship and passion to monetary gain.
One netizen asked, “Where is the pride? It should be treated as a national service. Where is sportsmanship if it’s all about money.”
Others disagreed and said this kind of reward is fitting since athletes undergo rigorous and sometimes even costly training overseas.
They argued that the monetary rewards are fair compensation for the dedication and sacrifices the athletes make to reach the pinnacle of their sports.
One netizen added:
“To become an Olympian, you have to be like the top of your cohort in the entire Singapore before the age of 20.
In every million and millions of Singaporeans, you’ll only get less than 100 of them, and amongst the 100 you have to compete with other countries for a medal, to the point where every 10 Singaporeans you ask, one of them will know your name.”
So far, Joseph Schooling is the only athlete to have received the S$1 million cash award for his gold medal victory in the 100m butterfly event at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
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Read also: Shanti Pereira qualifies for Paris Olympics 2024 200m event
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