Francesca Lollobrigida secured herself lifelong glory at the 2026 Winter Olympics in her home country.
The Italian star has claimed gold medals in speed skating, both in the 3000 meters and 5000 meters.
She also secured a nice payday to go along with it, and specifically, it has paid well for Lollobrigida to be representing Italy.
Before the Games, USA Today released a list of the top payouts each country gives out for a gold medal. Italy is ranked third-highest.
Italian athletes get $213,418 for a gold medal. For the pair, Lollobrigida is taking home $426,836.
Not bad at all.
These are how the top-10 gold medal payouts stack up:
- Singapore: $788,907
- Hong Kong: $767,747
- Italy: $213,418
- Poland: $211,268
- Slovenia: $162,672
- Estonia: $118,692
- Czechia: $117,816
- Spain: $111,818
- France: $94,990
- Slovakia: $71,257
For reference, The United States gives $37,500, Canada gives $18,369 and Great Britain, Norway and Sweden have no payouts at all.
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Most athletes competing at the Olympics are doing so in sports that don’t have annual cashflow in line with some of the biggest professional sports leagues. They put their blood, sweat and tears into these pursuits, often to the detriment of their wallets.
It’s special for them to triumph at the Olympics regardless of financial impact.
But when an athlete like Lollobrigida can also receive a special payment for her achievements, it can be life-changing in more ways than one.
