The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) will make good on its
promise to reward Canadian athletes this Saturday, presenting $475,000 in cash
prizes for the 18 medals earned by Canadian athletes in Beijing.
Before the Games, the COC promised $20,000 for gold medals,
$15,000 for silver medals and $10,000 for bronze medals.
Although Canada won just three gold medals, one of those medals
was for the men’s eight rowing team which represents $160,000 in prize money.
The other two were for individual events — Equestrian jumper Eric Lamaze
and women’s wrestler Carol Huynh, bringing the total to $200,000.
Thirteen athletes won nine silver medals for a total of
$175,000 in prize money. Ten athletes also won six bronze medals for another $100,000
in prizes.
The money will be presented by the Athlete Excellence Fund this Saturday to 21 of the medalists at a special event in Toronto.
