Thursday 27 February 2014
Russia gives all its gold medalists $120,000, a new Mercedes
Russia's
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and figure skating gold medal winner
Yulia Lipnitskaya (R) attend a ceremony to present automobiles to the
Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics prize-holders representing Russia, by the
Kremlin wall in central Moscow, February 27, 2014. REUTERS/Artem
Zhitenev/RIA Novosti/Pool (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS SPORT OLYMPICS)
ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS
DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
If you're in Russia, and
you're a medalist at the Sochi Games, life is pretty good for you right
now, with cash and a new car waiting for you.
Russia gave all of its gold medalists in the Sochi Games $120,000, plus a brand-new Mercedes GL SUV.
This led to a bit of logistical leapfrogging with athletes like Julia
Lipnitskaya, who is only 15 and not yet of legal driving age in Russia.
(She got a personal driver to go along with the car.) Silver medalists
got $76,000 and a Mercedes ML, and bronze medalists got $52,000 and a
Mercedes GLK.A total of 45 cars were distributed to gold medalists. Russia won a Sochi-leading total of 33 medals, including 13 golds. The cars were provided by the Russian Olympians Foundation, a consortium established by Russian businessmen in 2005. Russian athletes who won medals in the 2012 London Games received new Audis with personal drivers.
For comparison's sake, the United States Olympic Committee pays its winners $25,000 for a gold, $15,000 for a silver and $10,000 for a bronze medal. Kazakhstan leads the medal payment rate at $250,000 for a gold, but has not had a gold medalist at the Winter Olympics in 20 years.
Of course, not all athletes benefit quite so handsomely. Dario Cologna of Switzerland won two golds in cross-country skiing. His reward from his hometown? A pig, which he named "Sochi."
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