Winning an Olympic medal is the thrill of a lifetime for an athlete. What some don't know, however, is that the prize brings its winner some cold, hard cash.
American athletes winning medals at the Rio Olympic Games receive a cash prize from the U.S. Olympic Committee.
The awards vary based on the medal won: gold medal winners receive $25,000; silver $15,000; and bronze $10,000. Those awards are on top of the actual value of a "gold" medal - a mixture of a small amount of 24-karat gold, some copper and a big dose of silver - at around $366 for the Rio games.
Some countries pay their medal winners even more. Kazakhstan pays gold medalists $250,000; Malaysia promises its medalists a solid gold bar worth $600,000. Members of the Italian Olympic Team can receive $189,800 for a gold medal; Russians receive $189,800.
Bad news for U.S. medal winners
There's some bad news that goes along with that payout, though.
Any money paid to a U.S. athlete for a medal win is classified as "earned income abroad " and considered taxable income by the IRS. For athletes with the highest-earnings - a rare few - that tax bill could equal $9,900 per gold medal, $5,940 per silver medal, and $3,960 per bronze medal.
The actual amount of money owed depends on their individual tax circumstances.
The idea of Olympic medal winners paying taxes on their prizes has rankled lawmakers for years.
Several past proposals have tried to do away with the medal taxes, albeit unsuccessfully.
This year, New York Sen. Charles Schumer is pushing the House to pass legislation that would prevent the IRS from taxing Olympic prizes.
"Our Olympian and Paralympic athletes should be worried about breaking world records, not breaking the bank, when they earn a medal," Schumer said. "Most countries subsidize their athletes; the very least we can do is make sure our athletes don't get hit with a tax bill for winning."
Schumer's proposal would allow U.S. Olympians and Paralympians to exempt the value of medals and the Olympic Committee awards from their taxable income.
Three-hundred and six sets of medals will be awarded in Rio.