For most athletes, winning an Olympic gold medal is the achievement of a lifetime – often a culmination of years of hard work, commitment, dedication and intense levels of competing to reach the very top.

But for some athletes at Paris 2024, a gold medal could also land them a significant prize.

National Olympic committees and government sports ministries of different nations sometimes award prizes to athletes who win gold.

The US business magazine, Forbes, reached out to all 206 countries and territories participating, with 33 confirming they will award cash prizes.

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Of those, 15 verified they will pay more than $100,000 (£77,750) to athletes who top the podium.

Hong Kong, which competes independently of China at the Olympics, offered the most to gold medallists of those respondents.

The territory awards a prize of $768,000 (£597,300) for a gold medal and $380,000 (£295,500) for a silver medal.

Israel followed in second of those who responded, offering $275,000 (£213,900) for gold, $192,000 (£149,000) for silver and $137,000 (£106,000) for bronze.

The other countries which pay more than $100,000 in bonuses for gold medals:

There are also countries that offer other benefits to medallists.

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Poland pays gold medallists $82,000 (£63,000) and gives every medallist a painting from “talented and respected” Polish artists, an investment-grade diamond, and a holiday voucher for two from a travel agency.

Additionally, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Poland’s participation in the Olympics, individual-sport gold medallists will receive a two-bedroom flat in Warsaw, while athletes who claim first place in a team sport will be granted a one-bedroom flat.

In Serbia, athletes who claim gold, silver, or bronze are eligible for a national pension that kicks in at age 40.

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Malaysia and Bulgaria offer monthly allowances greater than $1,000 (£778) to gold medallists for life, while New Zealand structures its payouts as yearly bonuses, with gold medallists receiving $40,000 (£31,100) annually until the next games.

According to the report, Team GB does not pay out bonuses, instead providing grants for athletes before the games to maximise their chances of winning.

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However, British Athletics, the governing body for the nation’s track and field team, does reportedly pay out medal bonuses independent of the government.

Meanwhile, World Athletics, the international athletics federation, announced in April that it would pay Olympic gold medal winners $50,000 (around £39,400) at the Paris games.

The athletics governing body said it was setting aside $2.4m (£1.89m) to pay the gold medallists across 48 events at Paris’ track and field programme.

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