The Summer Olympics are about to commence in London. Although Canada gets a lot of attention for excelling at Hockey, there is a lot to be proud of when it comes to Canada’s contributions to the Summer games. While Canada may not possess as many medals as other countries, Canadians have a lot of heart and determination along with very loyal fans.

It’s no secret that the Olympics are one of the most expensive events to be held, world-wide. Over the past 5o years, Montreal’s 1976 Summer games were the third most costly (USD6 billion). The London 2012 Summer games are reported to cost a whopping USD14.8 billion! Keep in mind that these costs are all sports-related and do not take into account the costs of fixing the city streets nor any other repairs required from the influx of visitors.

Considering all the hard work that goes into getting just once chance at a medal for those Canadian athletes who qualify, the payout is nothing in comparison to what professional paid athlete in the NHL, CFL, or NBA would make. The Canadian Olympic Committee pays athletes $20,000 for each gold medal, $15,000 for each silver medal, and $10,000 for each bronze medal under a program called the Athletes Excellence Fund.

It pays to coach Olympic athletes this year, literally. The COC will begin paying the coaches of Olympic athletes who win medals at the London games this year. The payout is $10,000 for each gold medal, $7,500 for each silver medal, and $5,000 for each bronze medal. That amounts to half of what the athletes themselves earn.

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