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    1. Life
    2. Money and Work

    Here's how much money Olympians from different countries get for winning gold

    It varies a lot more than you think

    By Marie Claire
    Published 22 August 2016 In Features

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    (Image credit: Rex Features (Shutterstock))
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    It varies a lot more than you think

    Great Britain did overwhelmingly well at this year's Olympic games, ranking second in the world after bringing in a massive total of 27 gold medals, 23 silver and 17 bronze - making Rio 2016 our best games yet. When you consider that we're a relatively small country by comparison, it makes our athletes' achievements all the more impressive. Take a look at the best bits of Rio 2016.

    But newly released information has revealed just how much money athletes from all over the world get if they win a gold medal. And it varies a fair amount country to country...

    Figures from Statista showed that athletes from Singapore benefit the most financially if they win a gold medal, receiving £578,000 (1 million Singapore dollars) in prize money as a reward.

    You might be wondering where Great Britain fits in in terms of a cash reward for gold medallists, but don't hold your breath if you're expecting anything impressive (or anything at all). Our athletes receive absolutely nothing in the way of prize money should they manage to get the gold. The self-satisfaction and priceless Olympic medal is seen as more than enough glory for them, apparently.

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    We're not alone in not paying out when it comes to rewarding our athletes, though - countries including Sweden, Norway and Croatia also don't reward their gold medallists financially.

    Here's how the countries break down in terms of gold medal pay outs:

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    Singapore - £578,000 Indonesia - £294,000 Azerbaijan - £196,000 Kazakhstan - £176,000 Italy - £142,000 France - £51,000 Russia - £47,000 South Africa - £28,000 USA - £19,000 Germany - £15,000 Australia - £12,000 Great Britain - £0

    Unlike the medal table where we championed almost the entire rest of the world, this is a table where you'll find Great Britain sit right at the bottom.

    It's the winning that's important though, right?

    Marie Claire
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