The 2024 Paris Olympics have been and gone with the Paralympics now set to shine bright across the French capital city – but can the athletes expect a big payday?
Starting today (28 August) with a grand opening spectacle and running for 11 days until Saturday, 8 September, more than 4,000 athletes will be officially welcomed in to the city in a grand event at the Place de la Concorde.
You might remember that this year’s Olympics were the first time international federations awarded medallists prize money.
So are the Paralympians similarly lucky?
Is there prize money at the 2024 Paris Paralympics?
Unfortunately, international sports federations do not offer prize money at the Paralympics.
So while Word Athletics paid medallists at the Olympics, World Para Athletics wasn’t feeling similarly generous.
A total of £1.9 million was given out by World Athletics, but no equal pot exists for the World Para Athletics governing body.
This doesn’t mean that all athletes will walk away empty handed though.
Certain individual national committees have confirmed cash will be being paid to their athletes should they win medals.
The gold medals that will be handed out at the Paralympics (IPC)
Which athletes could get paid at the 2024 Paralympics?
Given how much focus they put on winning medals across the Olympics and Paralympics, it probably comes as no surprise that Team USA is offering cash this year.
Although, 2021 was the first time Team USA started offering equal prize money to Paralympians and Olympians.
The national committee will be giving $37,500 (£28,400) to gold medallists; $22,500 (£17,045) to silver; and $15,000 (£11,360) to bronze.
Hong Kong will pay a fraction of what the USA is giving its athletes.
644,000 Hong Kong Dollars (HKD) was given to gold medallists at the Olympics, that’s around £63,400. Silver medallists received 322,000 HKD (£31,700) and bronze medallists pocketed 161,000 HKD (£15,800). Their Paralympians will get one sixth of this.
Australia will give its medal winners AU $20,000 (£10,300). Silver will get AU $15,000 (£7,700) and bronze AU $10,000 (£5,100).
The Paralympics is finally here (Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)
Will Team GB Paralympians get prize money?
The short answer to that question is no.
That is the same as the policy in place for Team GB athletes at the 2024 Olympics.
Britain does things a little differently, giving athletes annual training grants instead which they can then use as a salary, of sorts, to help fund their sporting goals while also helping in day to day life.
A total of £232m was put aside for British Olympic and Paralympic athletes by the UK government.