Imagine if the winners play for countries like Singapore or Malaysia. They will be super rich... Its time to get their top players to come here, especially Singapore where the table tennis is dominated by the ex-chinese. Imagine other incentives like being in top 5 and winning WC and Commonwealth and AE and bla3... Can take the money and retire back home. China to give US$51,000 to each champion BEIJING: China’s Olympic gold medallists will each get cash rewards of 350,000 yuan (US$51,000), nearly twice the amount given for the Athens 2004 Games, state media reported yesterday. The figure was given by Xiao Shan, deputy head of the country’s Sports Ministry, the Beijing News reported. Chinese gold-medal winners at the 2004 Games were given 200,000 yuan each, Xiao Shan said. China displaced the United States as the world’s premier sporting nation by winning 51 gold medals, their best Olympic showing ever, at the just-completed Beijing Games. – AFP
A Similar story from BBC. They make it sound as though the UK doesn't give cash prizes - They don't directly, but winning OG or even a medal will elevate or retain athletes funding for up to 4 further years - which adds up to significantly more than what CHN gives. Also GBP63.5m is remarkably low for a Country chinas size and number of athletes I believe the UK are looking for 100mil http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7581961.stm Cash boost for China medallists China spends about $117m each year on sports Chinese athletes who won gold medals at this summer's Beijing Olympics are to be paid about $51,000 each (£28,000), according to Chinese state media. The payouts are an increase on the $29,000 (£16,000) that China paid its gold medallists after the 2004 Games. China came top of the medals table at this year's Games, winning 100 medals in 25 sports, including 51 golds. China spends about $117m (£63.5m) each year on sports, according to China's sports chief, Liu Peng. Cash rewards China is not alone in giving its athletes cash prizes for winning medals at the Olympic Games. The United States also pays money to medal-winning Olympians. At the 2006 Winter Games, US athletes were paid $25,000 (£13,600) for winning gold medals, $15,000 (£8,100) for silver and $10,000 (£5,400) for bronze. Canadian athletes are also being paid cash rewards for medals won at the Beijing games. It is the first time Canada has made such awards to its athletes. They will be paid about $19,000 (£10,000) for each gold medal, $14,000 (£8,000) for each silver, and $9,000 (£5,000) for each bronze medal they won.
To add onto this check out: http://www.oyun123.cn/?p=81 which I've pasted below. **What a terrible article language wise I can barely understand it, I think the math is off too, I get 1,225,000 RMB after converting state+local+gold bar + 80K US into RMB. Ugh, ... there was another website I was looking at that stated the government award was 150,000 US and then w/ other incentives including developers free housing it was 410,000 US. Can anyone help to locate this article? Thanks, Derek According to the State Sports General Administration, Beijing Olympics will exceed the amount of prize money last, compared the gold medal at the Sydney Olympic Games prize money of 150,000 yuan standards, according to 50,000 yuan each incremental series of arithmetic calculations, the Beijing Olympic gold medal award at least 250,000 Yuan. Athletes from the seat of government and the “local forces” award is not a small sum of the number and rate incentives are often more than the national level. Henry Fok Foundation from 1984, to each gold medalist in the Chinese team presented one kg of gold and 80,000 U.S. dollars, speak with your income, so calculated down, every gold medals backing value of approximately 1.5 million. This number is only a conservative estimate, together with the Beijing Olympic Games and the special significance of the first, it is estimated that Chen Xie Xia from the prize money should be far more than that amount. Also worth mentioning is that the approval of relevant departments, participating athletes for the Olympic Games receive bonuses and other rewards should be exempt from income to pay personal income tax. Olympic exempt from state tax money includes not only the scope of national awards, also including other incentives income. So calculated down to conservative estimates, have won the first gold, pocket-sized 25-year-old woman into the Guinness Chenxie Xia will be the ranks of millionaires.
Boy those multiple winners must be laughing! From the medal results Zou Kai from the gymnastics team is the king w/ 3 Golds! That would be 3.75M$ RMB?? or 580k US .... Not bad for a 20 yr Happy for Zou Kai Sad for me :crying:. Is there anyone w/ 3 Golds or more? What about women?
Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan received US$164,000 (IDR.1,5 billion) for their Beijing Gold from INA goverment. Here's the news article (partially) which taken from Jakarta Post : Olympic medalists urged to prepare for next challenge Niken Prathivi , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 08/29/2008 10:46 AM | Sports ------- Kido and Hendra received Rp 1.5 billion (US$164,000) at the presentation ceremony. Mixed doubles Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir, who brought home the silver, earned Rp 750 million. The three silver medalists, shuttler Maria Kristin Yulianti, and weightlifters Eko Yuli Irawan and Triyatno, pocketed Rp 300 million each. The government distributed a total Rp 3.85 billion, a portion of which also went to their coaches. Men's double coach received Rp 250 million, the mixed doubles coach recieved Rp 150 million, the women's single coach and weightlifting coach received Rp 100 million each. Weightlifting coach Sori Enda Nasution offered wise words to his athletes, saying they should maintain modesty despite their Olympic sucess. "Winning and money might make them arrogant, which could backfire and damage their career," Sori said.
Zimbabwe government awarded huge cash reward for its Olympic medalist swimmer Kristy Coventry despite economic crisis. Mugabe hands Olympic medalist $100,000 cash reward Fri Aug 29, 12:38 PM ET HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe on Friday handed the country's only Olympic medalist in Beijing a $100,000 cash reward for her performance at the games. Swimmer Kirsty Coventry smashed the world record to win gold in the women's 200 meters backstroke. She also captured three silver medals. Mugabe handed the U.S-based swimmer the cash at a ceremony in Harare carried live on state television. "Our national spirit must exude joy and pleasure and say you have done well, daughter of Zimbabwe. We are proud of you, we wish you well. She's our golden girl ... take care of her," he said at the ceremony. The U.S. dollars, scarce in a country struggling with an economic crisis marked by a severe shortage of foreign currency, were carried in a briefcase by Zimbabwe's central bank governor. Other members of Zimbabwe's Olympic team received between $2,000 and $10,000 each. (Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by MacDonald Dzirutwe)