Russian medal winners at July’s BRICS games will each receive a cash payment from the Russian government, reports the Ministry of Sport. This is in addition to payments made to the athletes by the Russian Olympic Committee to compensate them for their non-participation in the Olympic Games this year.
The amounts paid will be
R358,400 per gold medal
R179,200 per silver medal
R107,500 per bronze medal.
This makes Daniel Marinov the highest paid athlete, to the tune of R1,236,700 (£10,795). The ranking of the other gymnasts is as follows:
Anna Kalmykova R896,000 (£7,819)
Leila Vasilyeva R716,800 (£6,256)
Nikita Nagorny R537,600 (£4,691)
Vladislav Polyashov R537,600 (£4,691)
Angelina Melnikova R537,600 (£4,691)
Sergei Naidin R358,400 (£3,127)
Artur Dalaloyan R358,400 (£3,127)
Maria Agafanova R358,400 (£3,127)
The medallists’ coaches will also receive cash bonuses (R137,200, R67,600 and R40,960 per gold, silver and bronze respectively).
Pro rata, these amounts are roughly one twentieth of the cash sum the Olympians made at the last Olympics, when in addition to cash each medal winner also took home a brand new car. Some winners also received luxury flats, granted to them by their local government.
The sporting infrastructure is gradually thinning down, with the gymnasts missing the opportunity for international competition and training clinics. Next year’s competition schedule will be every bit as sparse as this. The Friendship Games, planned for September this year, have been postponed until next. This may be the gymnasts’ only international competition next year - if it takes place at all. This year the gymnasts experienced only one training holiday, to Türkiye, and the number of gymnasts travelling was half that in previous years.
The Russian economy is an important battleground as the West attempts to staunch Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Many of the gymnasts are taking part in TV reality shows and other forms of entertainment to shore up their decreasing income. Sports, for so long Putin’s baby project, is bearing a significant burden of the cost of the war effort. Individual athletes will relatively be feeling the bite of the economic sanctions and of spending cuts as Putin diverts sports moneys into military spending.
Russia has been a world leader in gymnastics for as long as anyone can remember. It’s the Olympic sport that Russia spent the most on. As budgets fall off a cliff edge the country’s influence and visibility is declining. While Russia’s leaders prioritise death and war, they also prompt the tragic decline of their country’s culture and influence.
Russia’s 15 year old champion, Anna Kalmykova, was one of the highest earning gymnasts in July’s BRICS Games. She is seen here with Andrei Zudin, head coach of Moscow Dynamo, where Anna has trained since early childhood.