Canadian Olympic Foundation
Canadian Olympic Foundation disburses $935,000 to Team Canada Paris 2024 medallists, thanks to donor support
The Canadian Olympic Foundation is excited to announce that 50 Team Canada Paris 2024 Olympic medallists have been awarded a total of $935,500 in recognition of their performances at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, marking the highest amount ever granted to support and celebrate medallists’ achievements. This funding is made possible through the Team Canada Podium Awards, funded by the Malaviya Foundation, and the Tania Esakin Fund.
Each Team Canada medallist from Paris 2024 has received $5,000 per medal earned through the Team Canada Podium Awards and $13,210 each from the Tania Esakin Fund.
“For a Team Canada athlete, donor support means everything. It is an incredible honour to train for years, represent our country at the Olympic Games and be able to bring a medal home for Canada was amazing,” said Kristen Kit, Team Canada Olympic rower and Paris 2024 silver medallist. “At the end of the day though, knowing that you made your fellow Canadians proud and that all your work meant something to them, is what makes it all worth it. I cannot thank the Malaviya Foundation and the Esakin family enough for their support.”
The Team Canada Podium Award has been granted to Team Canada medallists since the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, totaling almost $1.6 million to date, and will continue through the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. In addition, the Malaviya Foundation has also donated $200,000 to Olympic and Paralympic Next Generation Initiatives, to support up and coming Canadian athletes.
“As we reflect on Paris 2024 and look ahead to Milano Cortina 2026, we are immensely grateful for the Malaviya Foundation’s continued leadership, in celebration of the excellence that Canadian athletes continue to demonstrate on the world stage.” said Jacqueline Ryan, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Olympic Foundation and Chief Brand and Commercial Officer of the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Sanjay Malaviya, the Canadian healthcare tech entrepreneur and founder of the Malaviya Foundation, says Team Canada inspires the nation in countless ways.
“Canadian sport has the power to strengthen and bring communities together. It’s a privilege to celebrate the successes at Paris 2024, and to support the athletes who have made the country proud,” he said.
The distributed grants also came from the Tania Esakin Fund, established through an estate gift to the Canadian Olympic Foundation from Cecile Esakin. At his wishes, the fund was divided equally among Canadian medallists from Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024.
Find out more about how you can support Team Canada athletes here.
In addition to donor funding, $815,000 has been granted to Team Canada Paris 2024 medallists from the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Athlete Excellence Fund, bringing the combined total to $1.75 million in funding support to these podium athletes. The Athlete Excellence Fund is a support and reward program that provides Canadian athletes with performance awards of $20,000, $15,000 and $10,000 for winning Olympic gold, silver or bronze medals respectively. It also provides funding of $5,000 for performances at World Championships (or equivalent) during non-Olympic years, to support living, training, and competition expenses.
