Who needs a lot of money

Horse embryos and co.: This is how expensive the Olympics are!

The Olympics are really expensive.

(Bild: GEPA/„Krone“)

A check of the material costs of the Austrian Olympic athletes: riders and sailors need a big budget.

The Olympics are expensive! 81 athletes from Austria have their sights set on precious metal in Paris. Each of the 19 sports in which red-white-red is represented not only has physical requirements, but also needs certain equipment. The highest amounts are in equestrian sport. Horses in dressage or show jumping often exceed the million mark - but Olympic horses are usually unsaleable for their owners or the price is not even quantifiable. Young horses with prospects, however, reach sums of up to €500,000 before they are trained - and even embryos with good genes are traded in the six-figure range! Christian Schumach's Olympic horse "Te Quiero" is a direct descendant of record-breaking horse "Totilas". The now deceased stallion changed hands for around 10 million euros in 2010.

That's how expensive the Olympics are.

(Bild: „Krone“)

When it comes to sports equipment, sailing boats are at the top of the price table. A 470 boat normally costs around €35,000 - our mixed starters Lara Vadlau and Lukas Mähr are pushing the costs up to €60,000 with numerous special designs to go for gold. Even the "smallest" class, the iQFoil, still costs around €10,000. Magdalena Lobnig's rowing boat, on the other hand, costs an impressive €18,000, but (like the equipment in many disciplines!) belongs to the association. For her bronze medal in Tokyo, the Carinthian was given her successful boat as a gift afterwards - a nice, rare gesture.

A kayak including paddle and equipment costs around €3,000 - each athlete has a special one for the slalom made of carbon fiber and one for the cross competition made of plastic. The bikes used by our Olympians are also expensive. The bikes of Marco Haller and Co. cost up to €17,000 - the triathletes also need special cycling shoes (€300) for a quick change, a wetsuit (€1000) and running shoes (€300).

The shooting range is also expensive. A small-caliber rifle is the most expensive at up to €6000. For archers, in addition to the bow (€1500) and up to 24 sets of arrows (€80 per arrow), the scope is also expensive - Swarovski models cost up to €4000.

Beach volleyball players have it best
It's not the swimmers who get off the cheapest - the "swimming trunks" cost up to €400 because they even incorporate carbon parts. Beach volleyball players have it best - apart from the ball, which costs around €70, they only need the shorts.