It was recently announced that Canadian athletes will receive cash bonuses for each medals they win at the Beijing Olympics. It is the first time for Canadian athletes to be paid money for winning a medal at the Olympics and opens the debate as to whether the Olympic ideals are broken once cash incentives get introduced.

Payments will be made as follows: $20,000 for each gold medal, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze.

According to this article other countries offer various incentives and prizes to successful athletes.

Lithuania: $100,000 for each gold medal and a BMW

United States: $25,000 for each gold medal

Belarus: $65,000 for a gold medal at the 2000 games

Kazakhstan: $100,000 - a small fortune in the country, which probably brings about its on problems as supporters and family clamor for their share.

Australia: AU$20,000

New Zealand: Gold medalists can receive up to NZ$40,000 but the use of the money is monitored and is to be used for training.