Are these athletes the same as professional athletes who are paid enormous salaries for entertaining the public? They represent our country and they work their derrières off to bring glory not only to themselves, but also to their country. Then Uncle Sam wants to repay them by taxing their MEDALS?! Does the government tax our soldiers' medals??? I have to admit that I'm ignorant about how the Olympic athletes are supported or whether or not they work at other jobs to earn a living. I'm not a huge sports fan. You would expect earnings that are not Olympic prizes to be taxed, but the idea of taxing their prizes just seems mean-spirited to me. I look forward to reading other people's opinions on this issue.