‘That’s priceless’: Cambridge philanthropist renews prize money for Olympians

A Cambridge foundation is once again helping Canada’s Olympic athletes feel inspired and appreciated for being faster, higher and stronger.

Healthcare entrepreneur, Sanjay Malaviya, based in Hespeler, is chipping in $5,000 per medal for any athlete making the podium at the Paris Olympics this summer.

This means a gold medal for a Canadian Olympian will be worth a total of $25,000 — silver receives $20,000, and bronze, $15,000.

Malaviya tells CityNews 570, “This is a very selfish thing I feel I did. I really did it because sports and our country mean a lot to me.”

He went on to say, “It’s just so clearly a good positive thing to do that I just wanted to do it.”

And he says athletes are role models who bring the country together, “and for me, that’s priceless.”

Malaviya is also committing $4 million to a fund that will financially reward Canada’s Paralympic medalists for the first time and at the same level as Olympic athletes who have received medal bonuses since 2006.

He says, “Almost without thinking I said, of course, we would want to do this for both Olympians and Paralympians.”

He adds Paralympians had been fighting for that equity for quite some time.

“I think I just came in at the right time, and I was able to stand on the shoulders of a lot of great people and a lot of their efforts.”

Malaviya began funding some prize money for medals in the 2021 Tokyo and 2022 Beijing Olympics.

The renewed funding also extends to the Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina, Italy, in 2026.