Vietnam's 2024 Olympic gold medalist could receive nearly 30 billion VND

Decree 152/2018/ND-CP stipulates that athletes who win Olympic gold medals will be awarded 350 million VND, silver medals 220 million VND and bronze medals 140 million VND. If they break another record, athletes will be awarded an additional 140 million VND.

Meanwhile, the International Sports Strategy Foundation (ISF) announced the prize for Vietnam’s gold medal is 1 million USD, equivalent to 25.5 billion VND at present. Silver and bronze medalists will receive 500,000 USD and 200,000 USD respectively.

A strategic partner of ISF in Korea will sponsor all the prize money and has signed a cooperation agreement with the Vietnam Olympic Committee, in February 2023. In addition, the prize money will be awarded for a maximum of three medals of each type.

National Sports Federations and Departments also offer rewards to encourage athletes. The Shooting Federation offers rewards of 500 million, 300 million and 200 million VND. The Boxing Federation also has the same rewards for gold and bronze medals, but silver medals are awarded 350 million VND.

A company also pledged to reward medalists with televisions. Gold medalists will be awarded 115-inch TVs, worth VND700 million. Silver and bronze medalists will receive TVs, worth VND110 million and VND50 million, respectively.

The 2024 Olympics will also see the first time that international sports federations will offer bonuses. The International Athletics Federation will award $50,000, equivalent to VND1.3 billion, to athletes who win gold medals. Meanwhile, the International Boxing Federation will award double.

The total bonus from the above amounts can help an athlete change his life. If he wins a gold medal, a Vietnamese track and field athlete will receive more than 27 billion VND. A shooter will receive more than 26 billion VND. Meanwhile, a boxer will receive the highest amount, more than 29 billion VND. The amount can increase when there are additional bonuses after achieving good results.

However, Vietnam's chances of competing for medals at this Olympics are very difficult. The hopes of competing for medals are mainly placed on three sports: weightlifting, boxing and shooting.

16 Vietnamese athletes came to Paris, including Nguyen Thi That (cycling), Nguyen Huy Hoang and Vo Thi My Tien (swimming), Tran Thi Nhi Yen (athletics), Trinh Thu Vinh and Le Thi Mong Tuyen (shooting), Trinh Van Vinh (weightlifting), Nguyen Thi Huong (canoeing), Pham Thi Hue (rowing), Nguyen Thuy Linh and Le Duc Phat (badminton), Vo Thi Kim Anh and Ha Thi Linh (boxing), Le Quoc Phong and Do Thi Anh Nguyet (archery), Hoang Thi Tinh (judo).

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Vietnamese sports delegation announced the prize money for athletes winning gold, silver, and bronze medals at 1.85 billion (about 80,000 USD), 1.2 billion, and 640 million VND, respectively. But no athlete won a medal.

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh won a gold medal in the 10m pistol event and a silver medal in the 50m pistol event. He received a cash bonus of 180 million VND, followed by additional bonuses from sponsors, raising the total to nearly 5 billion VND.

Vietnam has only four athletes who have won medals at the Olympics. Before Hoang Xuan Vinh, martial artist Tran Hieu Ngan won a silver medal in taekwondo at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, Hoang Anh Tuan won a silver medal in weightlifting at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and Tran Le Quoc Toan won a silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012.