What Olympic Winners Do With Their Medals

Sports Curious

What would you do with your most prized possession? You’ll never guess. 1. Team USA Women’s Soccer player Christie Rampone keeps her medals in her pots and pans. Her rationale? Who’s going to look there? 2. Honorable mentions go to a school locker (Bob Suter), their agent's house (Shaun White), in the nightstand (Lindsey Vonn) and the nail polish drawer (Caitlyn Jenner). Then there's the always popular sock drawer, where a slew of Olympic athletes store their medals, including Apolo Ohno, Natalie Coughlin, Mary Lou Retton and Sue Bird. 3. Sprinter Carl Lewis put his 1987 medal in his father’s casket at his funeral. He told his mom that he was going to go back and get another one. And he did. 4. Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko sold his medal from the 1996 Olympics for a reported $1 million, with the proceeds going to a children's charity he started with his brother. Other athletes have had no choice but to sell their medals to pay their bills. "Miracle On Ice" hockey player Mark Wells sold his medal to pay for back surgery. 5. USA men’s basketball won a disappointing bronze medal at the 2004 Olympic games in Atlanta. Unhappy with the teams’ performance, Carmelo Anthony gave his bronze medal to a family member who auctioned it off for $14,000. Did you know? This year's Olympic medals are made of recycled metals from small electronic devices like mobile phones. But the medal isn't the only prize. American medal winners receive a bonus for their win. The scale is $37,000 for gold, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze. Thanks to the "Victory Tax," US Olympians earning less than $1 million/year won't have to pay tax on this prize money. Links: Website: www.lastnightsgame.com Shop at: www.lastnightsgame.com promo code SPORTSCURIOUS 7 must-read books for the summer: lastnightsgame.com/-summer-book-list-2021