What is the value of a gold medal? It depends on where you live.

If there was a medal for the country that promised the most money for a gold medal, Singapore would win. If Michael Phelps were a Singaporean, he would have gone home with 5.75 million Singapore dollars or about 4 million US dollars.

Here is a list of countries which have promised monetary incentives for gold medals (all in US dollars):
Singapore – US$708,800 (equivalent to SGD 1 million. The SNOC also promised $1.5miillion for a team gold.)
Philippines – US$340,909
Malaysia – $307,000
Thailand – $300,000
UAE – $272,000
Russia – $100,000
Japan – $100,000
Bulgaria – $76,620 (100,000 leva)
Israel – $67,500 (NIS 240,000)
China – $51,000 (350,000 yuan)
Dominican Republic – $30,000
USA – $25,000
Australia – $20,000

Obviously promising folks money is one thing. Whether they will still represent you is another. If it was just money alone, Michael Phelps would be at the Immigration and Checkpoint Authority (ICA) tomorrow applying for a passport.

I wonder if he would qualify.

_________________________

Conversation between ICA and Michael Phelps.

ICA: Name?
Phelps: Phelps. Michael Phelps.
ICA: Sound familiar leh. What you do, ah?
Phelps: Swim.
ICA: You want to apply for citizenship just because you can SWIM?
Phelps: Er…yes. I swim quite fast.
ICA: I also can swim. My breaststroke damn power. You can swim what stroke?
Phelps: Er…all the strokes.
ICA: Eh, you quite show-off type, hor. What else have you been doing?
Phelps: I just eat, sleep and swim. Have been doing so for the last four years.
ICA: Wah! Very shiok, like that! We don’t accept lazy people like you. Eat, sleep and swim only. I also can do. But, very important, let me ask you: CAN YOU PLAY PING-PONG?