Canadian medal winners will get paid for first time at Paralympics
For the first time ever, Canadian athletes at the Paralympics will be getting paid if they find a way onto the podium in Paris.
In a move that will make Canadian Paralympic athletes equal to their Olympic counterparts, medal winners will now be financially compensated for their efforts at the Paris 2024 Games.
This means that the gold medal winners will receive $20,000, silver will get $15,000, and bronze medal winners will score $10,000. This is equal compensation to what Canadian Olympic medal winners received at the latest Games as well.
CBC’s Devin Heroux had the initial report on the development.
When Canadian Paralympians win medals in Paris they'll be financially rewarded for the first time in history.
$20,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver, $10,000 for bronze. It's equal to the amount Canadian Olympians receive.
My story from earlier this year: https://t.co/P6x1DMCIeC
— Devin Heroux (@Devin_Heroux) August 25, 2024
News of Canada’s Paralympic athletes getting financial compensation for medal wins at this year’s Games was announced back in January with the creation of the Paralympic Performance Recognition program.
An initial $8 million has been provided by the Paralympic Foundation of Canada to create this program. Half of that money ($4 million) is being provided by lead donor Sanjay Malaviya.
The goal of the program was to start compensating athletes at not only the 2024 Paralympics but also future editions of the Games as well.
Canada will have a total of 86 para-athletes competing in 16 sports at this year’s edition of the Games. During the 2020 Paralympics, Canada captured a total of five gold medals, 10 silver, and six bronze for an overall count of 21 medals. That was good enough to land Canada at 23rd on the medal table.
If athletes at those Games were getting the same compensation that will be seen at this year’s event, it would have totalled up to about $310,000.
The Paris 2024 Paralympics is set to get underway on Wednesday and will run all the way until September 8.
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