What's in the Olympics Box? Here's what's in the long cardboard box Olympic medal winners get on the podium

Many people watching the presentation ceremonies thusfar have been baffled by the ‘bonus boxes’ that are handed out alongside the medals to the strains of national anthems.

Here’s what you need to know - and what else athletes receieve.

What is in the box that the medal winners receive on the podium?

Along with their medals, medal-winning athletes are presented with a long, thin box with a window on one side.

The mysterious gift is a copy of the offical Olympics poster - that has traditionally been produced since being introduced at the 1912 Stockholm Games.

It was designed by local illustrator Ugo Gattoni, who reportedly took over 2,000 hours to finish the intricate drawing by hand.

What does the poster show?

The poster features a combination of Paris’ famous monuments, from the Eiffel Tower to the Arc de Triomphe, along with Olympic venues such as Stade de France and numerous emblems and symbols of the Games, including medals, mascots and the Opening Ceremony boats.

Some of the newest sports to join the Olympic family are also included, including skateboarding and breakdancing.

Gattoni explained: "I wanted the poster to tell countless things, to be full of symbols. There are many small details, they’re stories within the stories.”

What else do Olympic medal winners at the Paris Games get given?

Away from the podium and the national anthems, Olympic medal winners receive a plushie, or cuddly toy, of the 2024 Paris Olympics official mascot, the Phryges. Learn all about these interesting characters here.

It’s a special toy just for Olympians, complete with a medal-coloured emblem sewn onto their front and the word ‘Bravo’ on their back.

Do Olympic medal winners recieve prize money?

It may be the pinnacle of sporting achievement, but the International Olympic Committee do not award prize money to athletes.

Continuing in the tradition of the Games being an amateur competiton, money is only distributed to international federations and national Olympic committees.

Having said that, individual international federations and sporting bodies do offer cash for podiums.

World Athletics, for instance, will pay prize money of $50,000 to winners in track and field events, while boxing medal winners will be paid $100,000, $50,000 and $25,000 for gold, silver and bronze medals respectively by the International Boxing Association.

When it comes to countries, Australian gold medalists will get $20,000, while USA winners get $37,500 from their international federation. A gold medal for a competitor from Singapore, meanwhile, is accompanied by a bumper payday of up to $1million. At the other extreme, British athletes don’t get a penny from their country for success in Paris.