Since the World Championship 2011, the International Ski Federation (FIS) has been awarding prize money to medal winners at the World Championship in cross-country skiing. At that time, it was around 100,000 kronor per gold medal, and during this year's championship in Trondheim, each world champion will receive approximately 285,000 kronor.
A World Championship gold medal, however, weighs much heavier than the money that comes with it, says Ebba Andersson, newly crowned world champion in skiathlon.
Right now, the prize money is just a bonus, says Andersson.
Nearly 400,000 kronor already
Jonna Sundling is the Swedish skier who has earned the most so far during the World Championship. The gold medal in the individual sprint (285,000) combined with the bronze in skiathlon (around 107,000 kronor) already gives her a decent championship income.
In addition, she is tipped to have good chances of expanding her gold haul in upcoming World Championship events such as the traditional relay and sprint relay.
And if a skier like Ebba Andersson receives maximum payout in the World Championship, it will also bring in a substantial amount of money. Gold in the three distance events plus a Swedish victory in the women's relay would reward her with a total of 78,000 Swiss francs, around 930,000 kronor.
Gold bonus from the federation
Add to that the Swedish Ski Federation's medal bonuses – 150,000 kronor for each gold, 60,000 for silver, and 30,000 for bronze – and the World Championship can become a million-kronor party for the very best.
And even though prize money is not a primary driving force, it still provides a sense of security to be able to continue pursuing elite-level skiing, says Ebba Andersson.
It allows me to live a good life. Invest what I can and not have to worry about the financial situation.
The International Ski Federation (FIS) is awarding a total of 672,000 Swiss francs in prize money during the World Championship in cross-country skiing. This corresponds to around 8 million Swedish kronor. The distribution is as follows.
Individual events:
Gold: 24,000 Swiss francs (around 285,000 kronor).
Silver: 15,000 (180,000 kronor).
Bronze: 9,000 (107,000 kronor).
4th: 6,000 (71,000 kronor).
5th: 3,600 (43,000 kronor).
6th: 2,400 (29,000 kronor).
Relays (divided among team members):
Gold: 24,000 (285,000 kronor).
Silver: 14,400 (172,000 kronor).
Bronze: 9,600 (115,000 kronor).
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Bonus to Swedish skiers from the Swedish Ski Federation (in relays, the bonus is divided among team members):
Gold: 150,000 kronor.
Silver: 60,000 kronor.
Bronze: 30,000 kronor.
Source: FIS and the Swedish Ski Federation.
