Every four years, thousands of athletes compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals at the Olympics. Most of these athletes spend years refining their particular athletic skills in order to perform at the top of their game. Despite these efforts, though, athletes are not paid to participate in the Olympic games, per CNBC. Though many athletes can work to receive corporate sponsorships and endorsements to fund their trip to the Olympics, those who do not receive this sort of funding have to empty out their own pockets in order to compete at the games. In recent years, many athletes have created GoFundMe pages in order to crowdsource the money required to pay for their trip to the Olympics and the extensive training that it takes to get there in the first place.
The Olympic athletes who manage to secure a gold, silver, or bronze medal at the Olympics do still have a chance to earn some money. According to CNBC, during the 2018 Winter Olympics, United States Olympians earned $37,500 for a gold medal, $22,500 for a silver medal, and $15,000 for a bronze medal. American teams who earn these medals split the reward money amongst themselves.
