Olympic Committee of Israel announces medal rewards
Israeli Olympians have plenty to shoot for in Tokyo, Baseball team to be compensated as a group
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFORI SASSON was the last Israeli to win a medal at Olympics, capturing the bronze in the judo men's heavyweight competition at the 2016 Games in Rio(photo credit: REUTERS)
As part of the Olympic Committee of Israel’s preparation for the upcoming Olympics, on Tuesday it released the financial incentives to be awarded to medal winners at the 2020 Tokyo Games.Israel's athletes are subsidized throughout their Olympic preparations in the form of predetermined scholarships. In addition, at the end of each season, athletes are rewarded with significant grants according to their level of success in various competitions.As well, ahead of the Olympic Games – the pinnacle of the four-year cycle – the Olympic Committee's sets prize amounts for medal winners in recognition of their achievements at the Games.This year, if an Israeli athlete wins a gold medal in Tokyo, the Israel Olympic Committee will distribute a total of NIS 850,000 in grants. That amount is to be split between the athlete (NIS 500,000), the coach (NIS 250,000), the training staff (NIS 50,000), the sport’s union and the sport’s federation (NIS 25,000 each).For a silver medal, the Israel Olympic Committee will distribute a total of NIS 680,000, with NIS 400,000 going to the athlete and a similar 50%, 10%, 5% and 5% split to the various other parties.For a bronze medal, the Olympic Committee will distribute a total of NIS 425,000, with the athlete taking NIS 250,000 of that.The amounts earmarked for grants for winning medals at the Tokyo Olympics are the same as those promised to athletes at the Rio 2016 Games.A pair of athletes who win a medal together will receive 75% of the money each. A group of 3-4 athletes will receive 50% of the amount for each. Teams of five or more athletes will receive 40% of the incentive level for each individual.The Israeli baseball team will get NIS 1,000,000 for winning a gold medal, NIS 800,000 for winning a silver medal, and NIS 500,000 for a bronze medal. The amount will be distributed equally to each team member, which includes 24 players and nine staff members.For athletes making the finals in their respective Olympic events, Israel has significantly raised the reward amounts from the 2016 Rio Olympics. For coming in fourth place, athletes in 2020 will receive NIS 120,000 (vs NIS 80,000 in 2016), fifth place will receive NIS 96,000 (vs 64,000), sixth will garner NIS 80,000 (vs 48,000), seventh will earn NIS 64,000 (vs 40,000) and placing 8-12 will be worth NIS 48,000 (vs 32,000 in 2016)
As per a study conducted by the Slovakia Olympic Committee in 2017 after the Rio 2016 Games, in which 17 Olympic committees participated – USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Korea, Japan, Czech Republic, Denmark, Russia, Switzerland and countries Eastern Europe – Israel is one of the most rewarding countries and leads in a variety of categories.In total Israel has won nine Olympic medals in its history, all at the summer Games, one gold, one silver and seven bronze. Gal Fridman won the single gold medal in sailing in 2004, it was his second medal after he won bronze in 1996 and he is the only Israeli multi-medalist. The silver was won by Yael Arad in judo in 1992. Other medalists include Oren Smadja (judo bronze, 1992), Michael Kolganov (canoe bronze, 2000), Arik Ze’evi (judo bronze, 2004), Shahar Tzuberi (sailing bronze, 2008), Yarden Gerbi (judo bronze, 2016) and Ori Sasson (judo bronze, 2016).
