Olympic gold medalist reveals the shocking amount elite swimmers are paid

An Olympic gold medalist has revealed the surprising salary swimmers are paid.

Swimming is one of the most-watched sports at the Olympic Games, with millions of fans tuning in to watch household names battle it out for gold, silver and bronze medals.

However, that does not mean that swimmers are among the best-paid athletes competing at the 2024 Paris Games - far from it.

While appearing on the Australian version of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here in 2022, Australian swimmer Emily Seebohm lifted the lid on the salary she earned.

The four-time Olympian did not make the Australian team for the 2024 Games in Paris, but even if she had, she would not have stood to earn much.

The 32-year-old explained that there is a tiering system within Swimming Australia and the top-tiered swimmers only make $30,000 a year.

"So, our swimming contracts are done every year, and every year you’ve got to re-try and make the top tier," Seebohm explained during the show.

"30 is our biggest contract, $30,000 for the year."

Former NRL star Beau Ryan was left stunned by the revelation.

"You just assume that our Olympic athletes, our national treasures are on huge money," he said.

"You assume they live in nice homes, drive fast cars and they’re on good money.

"That shocked me. I knew they weren’t paid well, but not at that level. That’s unbelievable."

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Emily went on to reveal that winning an Olympic gold medal, of which she has three, nets her around $20,000.

Salary, prize money, governing body funding and endorsement deals contribute to a swimmer's income, but Seebohm explained that the later is becoming harder to secure.

"There’s NRL [National Rugby League], which is played weekly, which is way better and they can wear their sponsors whereas we can’t,” she said.

"As swimmers, when we’re on the team, we can't wear a personal sponsor. People don’t want to sponsor us.”

Seebohm was asked if Olympians take "normal jobs on the side" to help support themselves, but she said her focus has to be 100 per cent on swimming.

"You only get a contract every year, so every year, you’ve gotta remake the team," she explained.

"So you're only on the top for a year and then if you have an off year and you drop to, like, not making the team or you drop to 16th, your funding immediately drops."

"I have to be on the top of my game every time I swim, otherwise I’m not going to make that money. Like, I can’t slack off at all. Ever."