After her stunning victory claiming the gold medal Imane Khelif is set to claim a large cash reward for her win.
The Algerian boxer took the gold in the women’s welterweight contest, beating China’s Yang Liu by a unanimous decision.
Imane Khelif and Yang Liu celebrate the final of the women’s welterweight division. (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
Her win made her only the second person in Algeria’s Olympic history to claim a gold medal at the games.
Khelif’s participation in the Olympics was at the centre of controversy after it emerged that she had failed an unspecified ‘gender eligibility test’ carried out by the discredited International Boxing Association (IBA).
The IBA was dropped by the International Olympic Commission (IOC) amid allegations of corruption.
These centred around the IBA’s president Umar Kremlev who has ties to Vladimir Putin, as well as the IBA’s main sponsor being the Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom.
But despite a tsunami of misinformation and abuse being directed at Khelif online she has gone on to win the gold medal in her category.
Khelif took the gold medal. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Believe it or not Olympians aren’t actually guaranteed a cash prize if they win a medal, though obviously the medal itself does have financial value.
However many countries have awards systems in place where medallists are granted a cash prize by their home country’s Olympic organisation, rather than by the Olympics itself.
But it does vary a lot from country to country, and from sport to sport as well.
While one athlete winning the gold might take home $15,000, other countries can see athletes taking home as much $750,000.
Not that $15,000 is to be sniffed at, but with $750,000 you’re effectively set for life if you’re smart about it.
But what Khelif’s prize money?
Khelif celebrates her victory. (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
After weeks of struggle, Khelif’s gold medal means that she will take home a cash prize of just over $100,000, around $100,209 to be precise.
Of this, she will be able to keep half with the other half being divided up between her coach and the Algerian boxing federation.
As for the silver medal, that stands at just under $50,000, and will be taken home by China’s Yang Liu.
Speaking after her gold medal victory, Khelif hit back at the relentless abuse she has been subjected to online and said it only made her victory sweeter.
She told reporters: “I’m a woman like any other woman. I was born a woman, I lived a woman, I competed as a woman, there’s no doubt about that.
“[Detractors] are enemies of success, that is what I call them. And that also gives my success a special taste because of these attacks.”
Olympics 2024 highlights
Anthony Ammirati’s penis costs him his medal
French athlete Anthony Ammirati failed the 5.70 height pole vault because of his asset. #IKYK #Paris2024 https://t.co/qWnr1QbFzy
— @pauloinmanila and 99 others (@pauloMDtweets) August 3, 2024
The 21-year-old French pole vaulter attempted to clear the 5.70 metres on 3 August when his knee – along with his private parts – got in the way, shattering his Olympic dreams.
Iconic shooter Yusuf Dikec wins silver medal with ‘no equipment’
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Yusuf Dikec became a viral sensation. (Eurosport)
Turkey’s Yusuf Dikec took a laid back approach when he was spotted looking incredibly relaxed with one hand in his pocket and without any shooting gear on.
It all paid off though as he took home the silver along with his partner Sevval Ilayda Tarhan.
Noah Lyles’ 100m victory
He set a personal best (Eurosport)
Setting a new personal best, Lyles came out on top at the finish line by a margin of just 0.005 seconds, with a final time of 9.784.
The final also marked the fastest race of all time, with all eight athletes crossing the finish line in under 10 seconds.
Snoop Dogg in general
Everyone's timeline needs a cleanse and it doesn't get cleansier than Snoop Dogg dancing for a horse at the Olympics:pic.twitter.com/OWDIefIDlA
— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) August 6, 2024
Snoop went viral after he rocked up to the dressage team Grand Prix Special fully kitted out in breeches, a dressage tailcoat and hard hat alongside pal Martha Stewart. Iconic.
Ana Carolina Vieira gets sent home for breaking athletes’ village rules with boyfriend
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The swimmer was sent home after her actions. (Instagram/_anavieeiraa)
Ana Carolina Vieira was sent home after she and her boyfriend Gabriel Santos – also a swimmer competing in the Olympics – left the village without permission, which is against the Olympic Village rules.
Team GB star becomes first ever Olympian to win medal in both male and female events
Henry Fieldman (bottom left) made history. (henryfieldman/Instagram)
Coxswain Henry Fieldman made history when he won bronze at the women’s crews event off the back of his bronze win in Tokyo on the men’s team.
Fieldman was able to achieve the feat because of a rule change back in 2017 that allows coxes of either gender to steer the eights.
The River Seine drama
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Tyler Mislawchuk threw up after his race (BBC)
While Canada’s Tyler Mislawchuk vomited after swimming in the river, Belgian triathlete Jolien Vermeylen admitted she ‘felt and saw things that we shouldn’t think about too much’.
It came after health concerns were raised over the pollution levels in the river, with the country splashing out a cool £1.18 billion on cleaning it up in time for the games.
Freddie Crittenden jogs for entire race on purpose
What was bro doing
@ 🇺🇸Freddie Crittenden must be mad at something #GOLD #ParisOlympics2024 pic.twitter.com/CpNdhhsnkI— Voice Of Our Ancestors Channel (@VoiceOfOurAnces) August 4, 2024
The Team USA star purposely put on a leisurely performance in his first heat of the Men’s 110m hurdles and ended up being the last one to make it across the finish line with a time of 18.27 seconds.
The athlete said it was a calculated move to avoid aggravating a sore muscle in his leg and due to the introduction of repechage rounds, he knew that he’d have another chance at glory.
‘Slow pool’ accusations
The pool at the Paris La Défense Arena is 2.15 metres deep which is short of the minimum of 2.5 metres that World Aquatics recommends for an Olympic competition, prompting backlash from viewers.
As a result of the difference in depth, an issue called ‘slow’ swimming is created where the water is more volatile when dispersed than in a deeper pool.
Imane Khelif’s opponent quits boxing match 46 seconds in
Italy’s Angela Carini has since apologised (Eurosport)
The Algerian boxer faced Italy’s Angela Carini in the round of 16 match on 1 August when Carini – who has since apologised – decided to abandon the match after 46 seconds.
Khelif – who was born and raised a girl – was disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi amid claims from the International Boxing Association that she was not able to meet their unspecified eligibility criteria.
Khelif has since been at the centre of a gender row, and has urged people to ‘refrain from bullying all athletes’ amid abuse online.
In the end, she silenced her critics in the best way possible: with a gold medal in the welterweight division.
Luana Alonso ‘kicked out’ of Olympic Village
Luana Alonso took to social media to break her silence (Instagram/@luanalonsom)
The Paraguayan swimmer was said to have been asked to leave the village amid accusations of creating an ‘inappropriate environment’, according to a statement from her team.
Alonso – who also announced her retirement from the sport – has since denied the claims and urged people to ‘stop spreading false information’.
Gold medal winner Thomas Ceccon spotted sleeping in park amid village complaints
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Ceccon having a cheeky snooze. (Instagram)
The athlete, who won gold in the men’s 100m backstroke, was spotted taking a nap outside by Saudi rower Husein Alireza who posted it to his Instagram account, tagging the spot as a location within the official Olympic Village.
Speaking about his accommodation, Ceccon said: “It’s hard to sleep both at night and in the afternoon. Usually, when I’m at home, I always sleep in the afternoon. Here I really struggle between the heat and the noise.”
Steven van de Velde booed while making his Olympic debut
Steven van de Velde is a convicted child rapist (Eurosport)
The convicted child rapist was booed as he competed in the preliminary phase of the beach volleyball men’s tournament at the start of the games last month.
In 2016, Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison after admitting three counts of rape against a 12-year-old girl in August 2014, with many furious that he has been allowed to compete in the Olympics.
George Mills squares up to opponent
🇬🇧 George Mills was NOT happy with one of his fellow 5000m competitors 😡#Olympics #Paris2024 #BBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/OQ7tODFkpK
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 7, 2024
The men’s 5,000 metres heats erupted into chaos on Wednesday (7 August), with Team GB’s George Mills accusing France’s Hugo Hay of pushing him.
The two athletes even shared a tense exchange at the finish line.
Four runners ended up on the floor in the tumble, with three of them put through to the final.
But Mills ultimately didn’t end up with a medal, finishing 21st in the final with a time of 13:32:32.
Jordan Chiles stripped of medal
It was a heartbreaking Olympics for Jordan Chiles (Instagram/@jordanchiles)
It was a heartbreaking Olympics for Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles.
After she’d walked away with a bronze medal on the women’s floor exercise gymnastics, a court ruled that a Team USA inquiry that secured her podium finish came four seconds too late.
As such, Romania’s Ana Barbosu was reinstated in third, with Chiles potentially having to hand back her medal.
