How much is an Olympic Gold Medal Worth? A question that would’ve crossed every one of our minds once in a lifetime. The Answer? Not enough! It does make you rich, at least that’s what Gabby Thomas said in the Net Worth and Chill podcast hosted by Vivian Tu.
“I don’t make my money on the track,” said the three-time Olympic gold medalist. But as per Meaww, Thomas has a net worth of between $1 million to $5 million, so if not the track, where does the money come from?
Net Worth and Chill podcast made a collaboration post with Gabby Thomas, posting an excerpt from the podcast. “I have a job that is to run, but I have a second job,” said the American track and field athlete. Further explaining what her second job and primary source of income is, she said, “And that second job is to essentially be an influencer. It’s to run my own brand.” And when you look at her socials and her activities, she’s not bluffing.
The 28-year-old has about 1.1 million followers on Instagram and she recently also made it to the cover page of the Vogue magazine, reading “when sports met fashion.” She signed a four-year agreement with Amazfit in February 2025 to be an ambassador for its sports wearables through LA28, and also she is a partner with the Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant chain, CAVA. That must bring in a lot of money when the Olympics don’t pay you enough.
Gabby was asked how much the Olympics pay her, to which she said, “For a gold medal in the U.S., you get paid $37,000.” And just don’t be shocked here, things are worse when you are really racer, cause, “if you do relays, you get to split it.” Yup the 37Gs split into four races, so about $8000 each; kinda explains why the Olympic is frustrated with the Olympic’s prize pool.
The Prize is very low, and the shock is Lu’s voice when she says, “That’s it? 37 G’s for what could (0:11) be a lifetime worth of work? No, absolutely.” And that’s right cause the athlete spends a lot of money to get on the platform, some amounts even rising to 6 digits and just 37,000 dollars is not justified.
“Anyone can say that they are professional runners.” – Gabby Thomas
Money and track and field, the correlation between the two has been a long time, discussions with the same conclusion every time; the athletes are underpaid, Tyrone Smith has said it, Justin Gatlin has said it, Michael Johnson even started his own track leagues alongside the co-founder of Reddit, Alexis Ohanian, in an attempt to pioneer change in the sport. And now the same issue has made Gabby say, “Anyone can say that they are professional runners.” But why?
Explaining her statement further, she said, “You could go for a jog and say that you’re training for the Olympics and call yourself a professional runner to be honest.” This was once again a sarcastic hit at the pay given to track and field athletes. The only difference between the person she defined and an Olympian would be the medal and the medal itself. She even described how many it takes to be a track and field star financially.
She said, “At the professional level, that journey to my first Olympics in Tokyo, I had to invest somewhere between 50,000 to 100,000 dollars.” A hefty sum went to her coaches, and agents; she even had to “pay for your travel to meets, massage therapists, access to weight lifting facility.” Thankfully she had her sponsors by her side by the time she was running for an Olympic gold, but when you realize 37,000 dollars doesn’t even cover the minimum limit, she had estimated. But another thing to keep in mind is that the track and field athlete’s Olympic gold might have been the foundation of her being an influencer.
Do let us know what you think. Is the $37,000 justified?
The post Frustrated by Olympics Prize Money, Gabby Thomas Opens Up on Second Job to Stay Afloat: “Don’t Make Money on the Track” appeared first on EssentiallySports.