I started wondering this after seeing Xander Schauffele win gold for the U.S. in golf last week. Did his caddie get a medal too? He did not. But that made me wonder do any coaches in the Olympics get medals or ANYTHING?
So Olympic coaches do not get official medals from the International Olympic Committee like the athletes do. For coaches it’s really all about the bragging rights and adding to their legacy how they’ve coached winning Olympians.
There have been a few rare exceptions… for example the head coach of the famous “Miracle on Ice” team for U.S. men’s hockey team got a gold medal after that win in the 1980 Winter Olympics. Also, some countries pay their athletes and coaches money for winning which is a nice bonus.
I do feel like in the future the coaches/trainers/caddies should get some kind of hardware. Maybe a smaller medal?!
Photo credit: REUTERS/Molly Darlington