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Moscow Mayor Promises $70,000 Reward for Olympic Medalists

Valery Sharifulin / TASS

Sergei Sobyanin, Mayor of Moscow, has promised a reward of four million rubles ($69,500) to every Muscovite who brings back a gold medal from the Olympics.

Almost 170 Russian athletes are competing in the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. They are competing under a neutral flag following doping allegations and have won five medals so far, none gold.

"Every Russian athlete who receives a gold medal should be considered a national hero," Sobyanin was cited as saying by the state-run TASS news agency.

Following the Sochi Winter Games in 2014, Russian medalists were awarded luxury SUVs, with their value depending on the color of their medal. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev personally handed over the car keys.

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