As various athletes compete at the Olympics games in Tokyo, winners are lined up to earn different rewards. However, there is a significant variation in the prize money countries have allocated to their athletes.

According to data acquired by Finbold, Singaporean Olympic games athletes earn $744,000 for winning the gold medal, $372,000 for the silver medal, and $286,000 for the bronze medal. The gold prize money is at least 20 times more than the $37,500 earned by United States athletes. For silver and bronze medals, U.S. athletes earn $22,500 and $15,000, respectively.

Among selected 12 countries, Singaporean athlete earnings rank in the first spot while the U.S. is in the 11th position.

Elsewhere, Hong Kong ranks second, with athletes taking home $644,000, $322,000, and $161,000 for gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively. Kazakhstan ranks third, with athletes earning $250,000, $322,000, and $161,000 in gold, silver, and bronze medals respectively. 

For host athletes in Japan, they earn $45,200, $18,100, and $9,045 for gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively. Australia ranks in the 12th spot, with the country’s Olympic participants taking home $15,100 for gold medal wins.

Athletes from less competitive countries earning more

The report explains the variation in earnings between the selected countries. According to the research report:

“Worth noting is that athletes from competitive countries like the United States are making less money than other less competitive countries like Singapore. The variation between the competitive and less competitive countries is exhibited by the current medal standing. For instance, by writing, Singapore was not among the countries that had earned a medal at the games. Elsewhere, the U.S. ranks in the second spot with 61 medals, including 21 gold.”

For countries with a significant number of prize money, the reward is acting as a motivational factor considering they attempt to establish their name in the Olympic games.