The games are not over yet.
Over the next two weeks, more than 4,000 Paralympic athletes will compete in sports such as archery, blind soccer, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair races.
U.S. Paralympians began earning the same amount for winning medals as Olympians starting with the 2021 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Now, all U.S. athletes earn $37,500 for each gold medal, while silver medalists earn $22,500 and bronze medalists earn $15,000. These amounts are awarded by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s Operation Gold program.
Other governments and private sponsors also reward athletes for medals in the form of cash and gifts. The International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee, the governing bodies of these Games, do not award medals to athletes.
During the last Summer Paralympic Games, American athletes earned a total of 104 medals.
US Paralympians previously received $7,500 for gold, $5,250 for silver and $3,750. The extra money will provide much needed financial relief for the athletes. Getting to the Olympics and Paralympics is expensive, with many competitors taking on jobs while training long hours. It costs athletes an average of $12,000 to compete, according to a report by the Commission on the State of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the United States
“Paralympic athletes continue to face financial barriers to participation through the additional costs of training, equipment and travel on top of the costs of high-performance athletes in general,” according to the report.
The cost of a new racing wheelchair can range between $5,000 and $10,000, while replacing individual parts can cost hundreds, according to the USOPC’s website on Paralympics Track & Field coverage.
Ben Washburne, an American Paralympic rower competing at the Games, told Marketplace that he receives support from the United States Rowing Association, which gives him access to boats, coaches and training equipment. He also gets a monthly stipend, but he has to work in a business development job at a green energy company to pay his rent.
Other countries, such as Australia and Canada, will also reward Paralympians who win gold, silver and bronze as much as Olympians.
In Canada, Paralympians who win gold will receive $20,000 in Canadian dollars, equivalent to about $14,850 US dollars, while Australian gold medalists will receive $20,000, or about $13,550 in US dollars.
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