Do Olympic caddies get medals? Xander Schauffele gave his bagman incredible gift after Tokyo glory
A golfer’s caddie is one of the most important people they’ll ever know, and at the Olympics, it’s no different.
And for two caddies at the 2024 Games, they’ll be celebrating their man and woman becoming an Olympic champion, although they won’t get their own medal.
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Xander Schauffele is the reigning men’s Olympic championCredit: GettyBut that doesn’t mean they don’t get to revel in the achievements.
Do Olympic caddies get medals?Unfortunately, Olympic caddies aren’t awarded medals at the Games.
Golf itself has only been back in the Olympic schedule since 2016, but despite a lot of conversations around it, caddies still aren’t awarded medals.
Read more on OlympicsHowever, every golfer knows just how important their bagman is, and many would like to see them rewarded with medals.
But until that changes, we are likely to see more of what Xander Schauffele did at Tokyo 2020.
After winning gold, he presented his caddie, Austin Kaiser, with a gold ring.
The ring had a USA flag and the Olympic logo engraved into it.
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Kaiser is back with Schauffele as he goes for back-to-back Olympic titlesCredit: GettySpeaking after he was gifted the ring, he said: “They knew it meant a lot to me, too.
“I didn’t get my own medal and they wanted to do something special for me.”
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee introduced the ‘Order of Ikkos’ in 2009, allowing medallists to express their gratitude to a member of team by gifting them a medallion.
We first saw this in golf at the 2016 Games when Matt Kuchar’s caddie, John Wood, couldn’t hide his emotion when a medallion was placed around his neck after Kuchar claimed bronze.
So, although caddies don’t get medals at the Olympics, golfers can give them gifts to commemorate the event.
And as we head into the last couple of days of the golf, there are plenty of caddies who hope they’ll be celebrating some form of Olympic medal with their professional golfer.
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