China to reward top Olympians with US$51,000 each

China's gold medal winners at the Beijing Olympics will be taking home cash along with their medals, state media reported Tuesday.

Each gold medalist will get 350,000 yuan (US$51,000) each, the  Xinhua News Agency said, citing Xiao Shan, the deputy head of China's General Administration of Sports.

The prize compares to the 200,000 yuan (US$29,000) handed out to gold medal winners after the 2004 Olympic games, the report said.

China topped the gold-medal chart with 51 medals, a haul that was the largest since the Soviet Union won 55 in Seoul in 1988.

Overall, China won 100 medals in 25 different sports, including its first ever in sailing, beach volleyball and field hockey.

It was the first time since 1936 that a country other than the U.S. or the Soviet Union/Russia led the gold medal list. The U.S. trailed behind the Chinese in golds with 36.

It is not uncommon for countries to reward their medal-winning athletes to compensate them for the financial burden of training.

The United States has paid prize money to top Olympians for years. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, athletes were given US$25,000 for gold, US$15,000 for silver and US$10,000 for bronze.

Canadian athletes earned approximately US$20,000 for each gold medal, US$15,000 for each silver and US$10,000 for each bronze won at the Beijing games, the first time the country has rewarded its athletes.