Other events in Baltic States

The State will pay 1.6 million kroons to the Estonian athlete who will win a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing, writes SL Õhtuleht.

A silver medal will mean a prize of 1.1 million kroons and a bronze medal 700,000 kroons.

While after the Olympic Games in Turin the Estonian Olympic Committee paid half of the prize money to the Olympic Champions and the rest of the half was paid by the State, now only the State will pay prizes to athletes who bring medals to Estonia.

“When the EOC was short in money, it asked from the State,” explained the deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Culture Tõnu Seil who covers the field of sports in the ministry.

“The money will be taken from the Government reserve fund,” said Seil, adding that as there are millions in reserves, Estonia could win ten gold medals, although unfortunately this is improbable.