Bronze Olympic medal worth just £3

An Olympic bronze medal - most made out of cheap copper - is worth barely three quid. An Olympic silver is worth £210 while the cost of the raw materials in a Gold gong is worth more than £400.

The value of any Olympic gong isn't just in the price of raw materials. But with one silver and one bronze won so far, the UK's medal haul is worth just £213.

A numbers game?

Victory - and a cheapo medal - is its own reward, of course. That British view though isn't shared by many Olympic committees. To incentivise some competitors, cash and cushy jobs are up for grabs: Malaysia's badminton player Wei Chong Lee is set to bag £400,000 plus should he win gold.


Italy is also offering cash prizes to star podium performers. Italy offers almost €150,000 for any national that returns with a gold medal from London. Armenia's National Olympic Committee will pay any Olympic gold medal winner £64,000 while silver medalists could make £47,000.

Lucrative roles

Olympic coaches aren't forgotten. For example, the Canadian Olympic Committee will dispense thousands of bonus bucks to athletes' coaches.

In contrast, the Royal Mail will print the mugshot of any British athlete on a special stamp. "The ultimate way way to remember London 2012," the Royal Mail claims. (And be trapped behind glass on mounted paper for ever.)

But bear in mind that Olympic performers can often take on lucrative punditry and TV roles, not to mention inspirational and motivational niches. The corporate world loves the marriage of business and sport - and pays handsomely.

Fought well

But the real value of any medal, including a three quid bronze, is what they stand for. All represent struggle and effort. The vast majority of athletes, despite some not very Olympian spirit cash sums offered, are motivated by their own talent, and the challenge.

"The most important thing," states the Olympic Creed clearly, "in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."



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