U.S. athletes competing at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will receive a $200,000 (about 290 million won) bonus per person regardless of their results.
On the 4th, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), U.S. investment industry magnate Ross Stevens recently donated more than $100 million (about 145 billion won) to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC). The intent is to use the funds to help ensure athletes do not face financial instability even after retirement.
The United States has long been categorized as a country without a government-level Olympic prize-money system. With this donation, U.S. Olympic athletes will receive participation bonuses. WSJ reported that a total of 232 athletes will represent the United States at this Olympics. A simple calculation applying $200,000 per person means a total of $46.4 million (about 67.3 billion won) is needed.
However, the $200,000 bonus will not be handed to athletes immediately. Of that, $100,000 will be paid either 20 years after competing in the Olympics or when the athlete turns 45. The remaining $100,000 is structured to be paid to the athlete's family after death.
Meanwhile, in Korea, the bonus for a gold medal is 62.7 million won. If a male athlete wins a medal, he also receives an alternative military service benefit.
Poland is pushing a plan to pay Olympic medalists bonuses in cryptocurrency, and it is reportedly set to provide cryptocurrency worth 120,000 euros (about 200 million won) for a gold medal. Germany has set 30,000 euros (about 51 million won) as the gold medal bonus and decided to exempt that amount from income tax. New Zealand will pay 5,000 New Zealand dollars (about 4.38 million won) per person for gold medals in individual events (disciplines with four or fewer competitors). The Czech Republic prepared 2.4 million koruna (about 169 million won) for a gold medal bonus, and Canada prepared 20,000 Canadian dollars (about 21 million won).