Editor's note: The following article, translated and edited from an article that first appeared in Beijing Youth Daily, discusses the multitude of post-Olympic Games money-making opportunities readily offered to China's Olympic Champions. 

While "Faster, Higher, Stronger" may be the official motto of the Olympic Games, these days, the saying seems to more appropriately describe the post-Olympic lives of China's Olympic champions: getting rich faster, raising your commercial value higher, strengthening your money-making abilities... For many Chinese athletes who medal at the Olympic Games, new-found fame and riches await them back home, with the biggest winners oftentimes going on to become full-fledged national icons.

Value of official awards increasing

In ancient Greece, Olympic champions were normally awarded with woven olive branches (and later, gold crowns) to wear, as well as items like goats and oil lamps, which were considered quite practical at the time. One could say that the glory of winning was in and of itself the main reason to compete. However, in the modern era, participating countries have moved on from such humble roots, instead opting to entice their athletes to win through more material incentives. For China, this movement, from caring about being the best in the world to caring about post-victory benefits, began during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, which was also the first time that the new China competed. Following these Games, China's National Sports Commission awarded every Olympic gold medalist with 6,000 RMB; Xu Haifeng (许海峰), who was the first to win gold medal for his country (in men's shooting) was given an additional 3,000 RMB. While this sum may initially seem rather paltry, it's important to remember that in 1984 China's per capita GDP was 695 RMB, and Xu Haifeng's monthly salary at the time was only 51.5 RMB. In the wake of 30+ years of economic development, the value of official awards for Olympic champions have risen exponentially, topping out at 350,000 RMB for gold medalists in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

One medalist, multiple awards

Olympic champions often get multiple official awards from different levels of government—national, provincial, local—which often adds up to a considerable amount of money. For example, after winning gold at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, male diver Tian Liang (田亮) was award one million RMB from the Shaanxi Provincial Government as well as 250,000 RMB from the State General Administration of Sports. On top of that, Chinese teams for many events have their own sponsors who are willing to chip in a bit, while other organizations like the Zeng Xianzi Sports Foundation and the Huo Yingdong Sports Foundation also offer their support to Olympic champions.

It should come as no surprise that for many Chinese athletes who were born into lower income families, becoming an Olympic champion is the best way to escape poverty and gain wealth. Take Beijing Olympic Games three-time gold medalist in male gymnastics, Zou Kai (邹凯), for example: he may have been born into a poor family, but after the games, the State General Administration of Sports, Sichuan Province and Luzhou City gave him financial awards worth more than 4.8 million RMB; if you count the awards he received from other groups as well, he made more than 10 million RMB for his outstanding performance! Also worth noting is that the State Council approved a preferential tax policy for Olympic athletes, essentially making their income derived from awards money exempt from their personal income tax.

Gold keeps its value against inflation better than cash awards...usually

No doubt, you've overheard Chinese talking about how wage increases cannot keep up with the rising commodity prices; cash awards for Olympic champions are no different. So what maintains its value best against rising inflation? Gold, of course!

After the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Jianlibao (健力宝公司), a beverage company, presented China's 16 Olympic champions with commemorative pure-gold pop-top cans designed to resemble their products. Unfortunately, in 2011, it was discovered that the gold used in these mementos was fake, and that each 200-gram can was only worth about 50 RMB...

But of course, not all golden awards for Olympic champions are shoddy. After the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the Huo Yingdong Sports Foundation awarded all medalists (186 in total) with their own specially designed commemorative gold medal. And while the weight of each medal is different—1,000 g for gold winners, 250 g for silver winners and 150 g for bronze winners—at least they're real.

But cars and houses are more practical than golden trinkets

Even though gold holds its value against inflation better than cash awards, ultimately, having a golden trinket is not really all that practical. Consequently, more practical awards, such as houses and cars have become quite popular in recent years. In 2008, women's diving champion Guo Jingjing (郭晶晶) and men's shooting champion Pang Wei (庞伟) were each awarded high-rise apartments in Baoding (Hebei Province) by a local developer, men's canoe sprint champion Yang Wenjun (杨文军) and men's diving champion Peng Bo (彭勃) were each awarded a three-bedroom house in a city in Jiangxi Province, (essentially becoming next-door neighbors) and women's swimming champion Liu Zige (刘子歌) was awarded a four-story townhouse.

After the 2012 London Olympics, it was announced that men's swimming champion Sun Yang (孙杨) was awarded a house allegedly worth more than 7 million RMB! And according to another report, women's badminton singles champion Li Xuerui (李雪芮) was given a two-bedroom house in Chongqing by a local real estate company. Suffice it to say, none of these people will ever again need to squeeze into an archaic 50 sq. m apartment with 10 of their closest friends.

When you're living situation improves, your driving situation should improve as well. After the 2008 Beijing Olympics, BMW—one of the Games' main sponsors—offered "50% off" coupons to every Olympic champion, usable on any one of their vehicles. Meanwhile, Chinese car company Wuling (五菱)—a sponsor for the Chinese weightlifting team—gave every Olympic champion a brand new car as well. Not quite on par with BMW, but not too shabby either!

...And don't forget about the commercial sponsorships

In addition to cash prizes, cars, houses, and other material awards, Olympic champions can also cash in on their success by increasing their "commercial value" and becoming the face of a company's ad campaign. These days, the integration between mass consumer goods and Chinese athletics is becoming more and more evident, and as China's domestic advertising markets continue to grow, many companies are trying to hire high profile athletes to promote their products. According to Liu Qingzao (刘清早
), a sports industry specialist at the Shanghai University of Sports, from a marketing perspective of influencing consumers, the short-term nature and "edge of your seat" feeling felt from exciting sporting events is actually very similar to what companies shoot for with their "flashy" marketing campaigns. Not surprisingly, consumers apparently love to see in-vogue sports stars sell them popular consumer goods.

Take for example track star Liu Xiang (刘翔), who, following his performance at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games (in which he won China's first gold medal in a men's track and field event) went on to become an advertising sensation across China, selling everything from Nike to Coca-Cola and BMW. Unfortunately, eight years and two Olympic injuries later, and Liu Xiang is no longer looking like such a hot commodity. But not to worry: due to his amazing performance in London, you can expect to see Sun Yang on pretty much everything you buy for the next four years.

Source: bjyouth.ynet.com 

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Keywords: Chinese Olympic champions wealth of Chinese olympic athletes olympic awards Chinese athletes Chinese Olympic athletes cash in