Awards to medalists after Paris 2024. Opinion

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games have concluded and, beyond the achievements and difficulties of the games, its most outstanding athletes and the winning delegations in the event, there are issues that are the least discussed, but, for the main protagonists, they have been a bonus to their results and to so much effort dedicated to sport.

It is true that the Olympics have been kept out of the payment to athletes, as it is done in world championships, world cups, diamond leagues and other competitions. But, more and more countries, promoters and other institutions reward athletes who achieve gold medals or of any color. There are even countries that awarded athletes who achieved Olympic diplomas (from fourth to eighth place), which shows the importance and economic value that sports activity has nowadays.

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In this publication, the author brings you an approach to this topic that reinforces the thesis of sport as one of the activities that generates and receives more income annually.

The award to sportsmen and women

The first thing that the author wants to clarify is that the statutes of the International Olympic Committee do not include a cash prize for athletes and that this is done as a way to stimulate the sports results of the countries and to economically help athletes who sometimes do not have the economic solvency or the best possible conditions to dedicate themselves 100 percent to sports activities.

Another significant element is that the prizes are not uniform in each of the countries and they depend on the economic development of the countries or the purchasing power of the companies, sponsors or others that make this type of payment.

Even in some countries, the inhabitants themselves have dedicated themselves to raise funds to give to their Olympic heroes.
Having said that, let's take a look at some very significant examples.

Awards that have solved lifelong problems

Before mentioning three interesting examples found on the Internet, it is good for our reader to know that not all prizes are in cash, but you can still know the total amount in money if you make the commercial conversion of the cost of the transaction.

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• Carlos Yulo. Of all the athletes who received awards for their performance in Paris 2024, one of the most substantial is this gymnast from the Philippines, who received several prizes, both from the State and from private companies. Among these was an apartment in a luxurious condominium valued at 440 thousand dollars furnished with everything inside, he received land, possessions, a check from the government for 16 million Philippine pesos and other goods and possessions that make a sum that cannot be calculated because they include free medical services for life, lifetime food, dinners in restaurants and other services.

• Stefano Peschiera. This Peruvian athlete, a specialist in the sport of sailing, won the bronze medal and was considered a national hero in the Latin American country upon his return. For such a feat he was awarded a prize of US$40,000 and was given other properties and gifts.

• Marileidy Paulino. The prizes received by this athlete from the Dominican Republic are very varied, substantial and range from cash to the most unthinkable prizes you can imagine. Along with Carlos Yulo, she is one of the athletes who received the most awards for the impact caused by her gold medal.
  To have an idea of the prizes received, suffice it to say that in cash she received 19 million Dominican pesos, apartments, free shopping services in supermarkets for a year and the purchase of up to 20 thousand pesos per month, medical services, wedding, dental services, delivery of apartments, among others.

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Other prizes received by the medal winning athletes in Paris 2024 go beyond money. For example: In Colombia they were offered free air travel for the value of the medal, in South Korea they received cars from the Korean company Hyundai and in Hong Kong they received prizes consisting of free Metro travel for life.

Note: I have used the translator Deepl Translate.