– It’s a shame that so many of those who choose to bet can’t afford it so badly that it goes beyond their achievements and the length of their careers, says Tore Øvrebø, head of top sports at Olympiatoppen. This is shown by the equation figures for 2023 that the Norwegian Tax Agency published on Wednesday morning. They show that the financial differences among the Norwegian summer Olympic athletes are clearer than ever. CAN SMILE: Jakob is one of the highest paid medal winners. Photo: NTB Karsten Warholm and Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s earnings exceed all 28 other Norwegian medal winners from this summer’s Olympics and Paralympics combined. These figures, which come in the year before the Games in Paris 2024, show a marked contrast in financial resources among Norway’s top athletes. Jakob Asserson Ingebrigtsen earned NOK 25,410,569 and Karsten Warholm NOK 14,945,571. The other 28 earned a total of NOK 12,943,320. See full overview further down in the case. Believes Norway is losing talent Top sports manager Tore Øvrebø cannot comment on individual cases, but on a general basis he has nothing against athletes earning good money. – Those who make a lot of money just have to do it. The challenge is that there are so many of those who train and prepare at a very high level, who have a very low income, says top sports manager Tore Øvrebø. – CHALLENGING: Top sports manager Tore Øvrebø believes that this is an issue that has worried him for a long time. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB He believes that this means that Norway is losing a number of talents who see that making money from their sport. – They then often choose another career, says Øvrebø. – Putting my private life on pause Seiler Line Flem Høst is one of those who have performed at a high level, but without making money from their sport. – I wish Norwegian sponsors saw the whole more and how weird it is, says Høst. She took Olympic bronze in sailing in Paris, but not because of great financial means. POSING: Line Flem Høst posed with the medal around her neck at Gardermoen. Photo: NTB – I always have to think about which trips I can make and where the WC is that year in order to be able to afford it. Sometimes it could have been a good idea to train for three weeks in Australia, but then it is not financially possible, she says. The sailor has mostly lived at home with his parents, with the exception of a few six months as a student with a student loan. – It has always turned out to be a good enough scheme to assert itself at the very top, even if it is not the scheme of dreams, says Flem Høst. She adds that she is unable to save money for later in life, such as buying her own home. – It has come at the expense of not getting any salary or saving anything. My private life is being put on hold, she continues. JUBILEE: Line Flem Høst could raise his hands in the air for Olympic bronze this summer. Photo: Reuters – But I have become rich in experiences, smiles Høst. – They deserve it Even if the handball ladies’ squad of 15 players won Olympic gold in 2024, the gold team overall did not earn enough to be close to the sums that Karsten Warholm and Jakob Ingebrigtsen collect. This even with profiles such as Nora Mørk, Stine Bredal Oftedal and Katrine Lunde on the gold team. GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY: The Norwegian handball women went all the way to the top in Paris. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB – That’s a bit like that in sport. Karsten and Jakob are very big profiles who are not part of a team, that also has a lot to say. They are also the best in their branch, and there are both difficult and popular branches, says Thale Rushfeldt Deila. – One would have liked to have been more equal, but at the same time they (Karsten and Jakob) deserve what they get. They are good, she continues. IN ACTION: Thale Rushfeldt Deila is playing at the EC in Austria this week. She was also part of the team that won Olympic gold in Paris this summer. Photo: NTB Olympiatoppen takes action Some of the athletes on the list earn not only below the national average, but far below. This is a problem that has worried the Olympiatoppen for a long time. – Firstly, there will be fewer people who choose to bet on top sport, and so that during their sports career they will not get enough in return for their efforts financially. – We know that a large proportion earn below what is called the poverty line. We want them to get better, says the top sports manager. PARALYMICS: Salum Kashafali and Vegard Sverd took part in this summer’s Paralympics. Photo: NTB – Does the Olympic summit do enough for them to get better? – We have up to now raised the size of the scholarships. We are also working together with our leading shop stewards in the sports board on the state budget and start working for a scheme that is more similar to work grants for artists, says Øvrebø. – Our ambition is that the best in their sport in the world should have an income that is at least close to the average income in Norway, he concludes. PS. All the athletes in this overview have stated their tax municipality in Norway in 2023 and are thus liable to tax to these municipalities. Information on net income and net assets may include income and assets abroad that are taxable to Norway, the Norwegian Tax Agency writes in an e-mail to news. They cannot comment on individual cases. Several of Norway’s athletes receive income abroad and pay tax abroad. Therefore, the complete income of several of the athletes will not be stated here. Published 04.12.2024, at 10.26 Updated 04.12.2024, at 10.32
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Enormous differences among the Olympic medal winners: – A worrying problem – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
