7.8 Million(JMD) Reward for Each Gold Medalist at the Paris Olympics
Jamaicans are excited about the Paris 2024 Games, especially for the possible medals, with Gold medals being the most desirable. Notably, Jamaica won 6 Gold medals at the 2016 Olympics that was hosted by Brazil, this was the most Gold medal won by the island at an Olympics.
With the recent announcement of monetary rewards for winners at the Olympics, starting this year, Jamaican athletes such as Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson, Kishane Thompson, Nickisha Pryce, Oblique Seville, and Jaydon Hibbert are among the names being mentioned as possible ‘big money’ awardees.
The winners will get a monetary reward along with the Gold medal at the Games which started on July 26 and is scheduled to run until August 11, 2024. Traditionally, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has refrained from offering prize money, adhering to the Olympic Games’ amateur roots.
However, World Athletics, the governing body for track and field, made the announcement on April 10, 2024. The statement published details that each gold medalist in track and field will earn $50,000, marking a departure from the tradition of amateurism in the Olympics.
Based on a Google search on July 28, 2024, $50,000(USD) equals around $7,800,000(JMD).
Historically, many countries have provided financial rewards to their Olympic medalists. For example, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee awarded $37,500 to gold medalists at the Tokyo 2021 Summer Games. Singapore’s National Olympic Council offers an impressive $1 million for an Olympic gold medal, a feat achieved by only one Singaporean athlete so far.
This initiative covers all 48 events in the men’s, women’s, and mixed categories, including relay teams, who will share the prize. Additionally, plans are underway to extend monetary rewards to silver and bronze medalists starting at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Jamaica first participated in the Olympic Games back in 1948 and athletes from the land of ‘wood and water’ have won a total of 87 medals. This year, many Jamaicans are looking forward to the team bringing home at least 10 medals.
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