Egypt increases rewards for Olympic medal winners

The Egyptian Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Youth and Sports have significantly increased the financial rewards for medal winners at the 2024 Paris Olympics, it was announced in a joint statement on social media on August 11.

“The rewards are now EGP 5 million (USD 101,636) for gold, EGP 4 million (USD 81,308) for silver, EGP 3 million (USD 60,981) for bronze,” the statement said. “In addition, each medalist will receive an immediate bonus of EUR 1,000 (EGP 53,478) and a luxury wristwatch.”

The decision follows recent successes by Egyptian athletes, including Ahmed Elgendy’s gold in the modern pentathlon, Sara Samir’s silver in weightlifting and Mohamed Elsayed’s bronze in fencing.

Egypt increased the incentives as part of a broader strategy to encourage and support its athletes in their pursuit of Olympic glory.

Rewarding Olympic athletes is a common practice worldwide, often in the form of cash and additional gifts.

Neighboring Saudi Arabia is promising athletes SAR5 million (USD1.33 million) if they win a medal — the largest payout in Olympic history. It is followed by Singapore and Hong Kong, which reward gold medalists with a cash prize of more than USD700,000.

The United States, which currently holds the record for the most Olympic medals, awards gold medal winners $38,000, by comparison.

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