Which athletes did the state spend the most on and which of them showed the greatest profitability at the Winter Olympics?

Russia failed the Vancouver Olympics. In the unofficial team competition, our team takes sixth place in the total number of medals and eleventh in gold medals (there were only three of them for the entire team). The main hope - the hockey team - was left without medals for the first time in half a century. It would have been difficult to perform worse, especially considering that the next Olympiad will be held in Russia. How much money did it cost to prepare for failure?

The main source of funding for the preparation of Russian teams for the Olympics is the state budget. The money goes through a specialized unit of the Ministry of Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy - the National Teams Training Center. In 2009, 740 million rubles passed through the center for the needs of winter sports teams. This is noticeably more than in the first two years of the Olympic cycle. In 2007, government funding amounted to 470 million, in 2008 - 680 million.

Money from the National Team Training Center is sent to federations of sports and is spent on the purchase of equipment, training camps, medical examinations and doping control. The biggest was the financing of the Russian hockey team. The freestyle federation received the least amount. In general, the priority areas of investment were chosen correctly - with the exception of hockey.

In addition to funding from the federal budget, teams in individual sports have the opportunity to attract sponsorship money. According to Alexander Kravtsov, head of the National Team Training Center, on average, funding from non-state sources amounted to about 40% of the total. But in some federations, such as the Russian Biathlon Union, which is headed by Mikhail Prokhorov, sponsorship payments provided more than 60% of the preparation budget for the Olympics.

The expenses don't end with the end of the Olympics. Russian athletes who managed to climb onto the podium are entitled to “prize money” - see the slide show “14 medalists and their incomes” . For example, 24-year-old Evgeniy Ustyugov, who won gold in the 15 km biathlon and bronze in the relay race, can earn more than 11 million rubles (the cost of a good apartment in Moscow) and a prestigious foreign car.

However, the Russian sports authorities will clearly be able to save money on this item based on the results of the Vancouver Olympics.

How much will 14 Russian medalists receive from the state and federations? — see the slideshow “14 winners and their incomes” .

To find out which sports competitions bring organizers the most money, read the Forbes Rating. The most profitable sporting events

To find out how much the largest sports brands are worth today , read the Forbes Rating. The most expensive sports brands

To find out how much Russian celebrities, and not just athletes, earned over the past year, read the Forbes Rating. 50 celebrities

2 billion rubles for 11th place