OTTAWA (TIP): All 50 Canadian athletes, who won medals in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, have been awarded cash incentives of $ 5000 each, thanks to a generous donation by the Malaviya Foundation, an organization run by Sanjay Malaviya, a Canadian healthcare tech entrepreneur of Indian descent.

The Canadian Olympic Foundation announced that all Team Canada Olympic medalists from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have been awarded $1.75 million through donor support and the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Athlete Excellence Fund.

In May last year, the Canadian Olympic Foundation and the Paralympic Foundation of Canada announced the Team Canada Podium Awards to support Canadian medalists at Paris 2024 and Milano-Cortina 2026. The Malaviya Foundation contributed upwards of $1.4 million.

It was announced that under the Team Canada Podium Awards, the Canadian Olympic Foundation and the Paralympic Foundation would award the Paris 2024 and Milano-Cortina 2026 medalists a $5,000 grant per medal earned. Additionally, $100,000 will go to Olympic and Paralympic Next Generation Initiatives, helping to fund the highest priority needs of the Canadian Olympic Foundation and the Paralympic Foundation of Canada.

Jacqueline Ryan, Chief Executive Office of the Canadian Olympic Foundation and Chief Brand and Commercial officer of the Canadian Olympic Committee acknowledged the gesture, saying “The Malaviya Foundation’s generous commitment to Team Canada athletes is invaluable. Despite our very best efforts, athletes still don’t have all the resources to compete at the highest levels. We are so grateful for the Malaviya Foundation’s continued leadership ahead of Paris 2024 and Milano-Cortina 2026, at a time when athletes need it the most. We hope this gift inspires Canadians to support Team Canada this summer and beyond.”

“The funding support that the Malaviya Foundation has granted the Paralympic Foundation of Canada over the years has been instrumental in creating opportunities and achieving greater equity for Paralympic athletes to fulfil their full potential,” Dean Brokop, Executive Director of the Paralympic Foundation of Canada and Chief Philanthropic Officer of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, had also welcomed the donation. “We are truly thankful.”

This gift follows the Malaviya Foundation’s $1.2 million donation to the Canadian Olympic Foundation and the Paralympic Foundation of Canada in 2022, which celebrated Team Canada’s medalists at the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“Canadian sport catalyzes uniting the nation and bringing communities together,” Sanjay Malaviya, the Canadian healthcare tech entrepreneur behind the Malaviya Foundation, said in a statement while announcing the donation. “Team Canada athletes are inspirational in many ways and it’s an honor to be able to support and celebrate them as they represent our country at the highest level of competition.”

The Team Canada Podium Awards are in addition to the funding that Olympians and Paralympians receive for winning a medal from the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Athlete’s Excellence Fund and the Paralympic Performance Recognition Program, which was established in part by a gift from the Malaviya Foundation in January 2024.

The medalists received a combined $935,500 through donor support in recognition of their podium performances at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, marking the highest amount ever granted through donor support to celebrate medalists’ achievements. This funding has been made possible through the Team Canada Podium Awards, funded by the Malaviya Foundation, and the Tania Esakin Fund.

Each Team Canada medalist from Paris 2024 has received $5,000 per medal earned through the Team Canada Podium Awards, and $13,210 each from the Tania Esakin Fund.

Malaviya Foundation has been regularly funding the Canadian Olympic Foundation since 2022 as earlier donations were used to celebrate Team Canada medalists at the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Additionally, the Malaviya Foundation donated $200,000 in 2024 to Olympic and Paralympic Next Generation Initiatives in support of up-and-coming Canadian athletes. The Team Canada Podium Awards will also be granted to Team Canada’s medalists from the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

The distributed grants also came from the Tania Esakin Fund, established through an estate gift to the Canadian Olympic Foundation from Cecile Esakin. At his wishes, the fund was divided equally among Canadian medalists from Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024. In addition to donor funding, $815,000 was also granted to Team Canada’s Paris 2024 medalists from the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Athlete Excellence Fund, a support and reward program that provides Canadian athletes with performance awards of $20,000, $15,000 and $10,000 for winning Olympic gold, silver, or bronze medals, respectively.

The Athlete Excellence Fund also provides funding of $5,000 for performances at World Championships (or equivalent) during non-Olympic years, to support living, training, and competition expenses.

Looking ahead to Milano Cortina 2026 and Los Angeles 2028, the Canadian Olympic Foundation looks to build on the increased momentum of donor support in helping Team Canada athletes reach their Olympic potential and in celebrating their achievements at the Olympic Games.