Perhaps other nations, who haven't got any golds or at least hasn't perform in their last Olympics, government are giving them a huge incentives so that it will motivate them to really give their best. Like in the case of Diaz from the Philippines, that's already huge amount of money and for sure she will also be a product endorser so that's additional money for her for bringing the country their first medal in the Olympics.
Not sure about Croatia, maybe in every Olympics, they have at least gotten a medals regardless of the colour.
We win a few on every Olympic games. I kinda think that the main reason why we have such small rewards is because we used to win most of them in collective sports (basically waterpolo and handball). So, when we win it, the reward is automatically multiplied by 15 or so (because every player gets a reward) and the amount is quite big.
Still, since the Olympics are every 4 years and both of our neighbors (Slovenia and Serbia) who are equally good (if not better) in collective sports have bigger rewards, I'd still like us to reward our best athletes more appropriately. Most of them participate in really unknown sports that basically aren't paid at all so it would really be great if their effort was appreciated more.
The problem is that sports achievements are not appreciated in our country and athletes do not have the right support and help from the state.
When they achieve some great success and win a medal at the world championships or Olympic Games, they are the main news in the media for several days and after that everyone forgets them again.
Given the conditions in which they are preparing for major competitions, and the lack of financial support, it is actually a miracle how good Croatian athletes are at major competitions.
With the right support and help from the state, the results would be even better.
8 medals at these Olympics, 3 golds, fantastic result for such a small country as Croatia
