Rio 2016 gold medallists and their national rewards

Athletes who have made the sport their life and won medals for their representative country are often rewarded with money, apartments and even retirement plans. Some countries like South Korea, India and Azerbaijan also reward coaches for training these star athletes.

Gold US $952,000 (approximately Dh3,500,000)

Gold US $745,264 or 1 million Singaporean dollars (approximately Dh2,737,000)

Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Russia, Philippines, and Brazil are reported to be paying more than US $250,000 (approximately Dh918,300) to their gold medal winners according to a CNN report. Some countries like Romania and Malaysia also offer retirement plans or monthly income for life rewards for medal winners.

In some countries, individual or business sponsors also announce rewards for Olympic medallists.

See our story on a Dubai expat who offered rewards to Indian medallists

Gold – US $25,000 (around Dh91,823)

According to reports, silver medallists get US $15,000 (around Dh55,000) and bronze medallists get US $10,000 (around Dh36,729) from the USOC

Gold US $36,000 (around Dh132,300)

Olympic medallists from Great Britain get no monetary rewards from the British government or sports authorities.

Countries such as Kazakhstan as well as Trinidad and Tobago reward their athletes with apartments. Kazakhstan gold, silver and bronze medallists will get three-bedroom, two-bedroom apartment and one-bedroom apartments. The report also lists Ukraine, China and Trinidad and Tobago who gifted their star athletes with apartments as part of the reward.

South Korean athletes who won medals are eligible for basic two-month military training as opposed to a two-year mandatory military term.

In 2008, a Belarusian sausage company offered gold medallists from their country a lifetime supply of sausages for free!