According to a press release directly from prime minister Dmitry Medvedev, Russia will pay athletes for winning medals at the 2016 Olympics. The payouts will be 4 million rubles (app. $52,000) for gold, 2.5 million ($32,000) for silver and 1.7 million ($22,000) for bronze.
In comparison, the USOC pays $25,000 to athletes that win a gold medal, a figure that has remained unchanged for quite some time, although individual sports do have some of their own reward systems.
The payments actually represent a decrease from what Russian athletes were paid for their medal performances in the Sochi Winter Games. Though perhaps that development is not surprising given Russia’s push to be successful in their home Olympics.
Russia was fourth overall in the medal count at the 2012 Olympic games, with 24 gold, 26 silver and 32 bronze medals. However, that number could see a big decrease if Russia’s Athletics team is still on suspension by the IAAF come Rio. Russia won more medals, 17, in Athletics than anywhere else in London.
