He athletics will be the first sport to distribute cash prizes in some Olympic Games. World Athletics announced on Wednesday that the Gold medalists in Paris 2024 will receive $50,000.
The decision represents a symbolic break with the amateur past of the Olympic event in one of its most followed disciplines.
World athletics’ governing body said it will spend $2.4 million to reward the winners of 48 events in this year’s Games athletics program. The relay teams will divide the $50,000 prize among their members. Payments to silver and bronze medalists will begin in Los Angeles 2028.
The initiative seeks to “recognize that the percentage of revenue we receive is due in part to our athletes being the stars of the show,” Sebastian Coe, president of the international athletics federation, World Athletics, told reporters.
The prize money will come from the percentage of Olympic income that the International Olympic Committee delivers to the entity.
But the move could upset the balance of power in the Olympic movement ahead of the Paris Games. According to Coe, World Athletics did not communicate its intentions to the IOC until Wednesday morning, shortly before making the announcement public.
In response, the IOC said it is up to each sport’s governing body to decide how to share its share of Olympic revenue.
“The IOC redistributes 90% of all its income, in particular to the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and the International Federations (IFs),” the IOC said. “This means that, every day, the equivalent of $4.2 million goes to helping athletes and sports organizations at all levels around the world. “It is up to each IF and NOC to determine how to best serve their athletes and the overall development of their sport.”
The modern Olympic Games were created as an amateur sporting event and the IOC does not award prize money, although medalists do receive compensation from their countries’ governments and sports authorities, as well as sponsors.
“I’m probably one of the last generation to receive a 75p meal voucher and second-class train ticket for competing for my country. “So, believe me, I understand the nature of the transition we’re in,” Coe said.
The British runner won Olympic gold in the 1,500 meters event in Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984, at a time when the Olympic track was not yet open to professional athletes.
“It’s a completely different planet than when I competed, so it’s very important that this sport recognizes the change in that scenario and the added pressures that many competitors suffer,” he added.
The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee awarded prizes of $37,500 to gold medal winners at the last Summer Olympics, in Tokyo in 2021. The Singapore Olympic Committee promises a prize of $1 million for Olympic gold , something that has only been achieved by an athlete from the Asian country.
In sports such as tennis and golf, the Olympic tournament is the only time during the season when many professional athletes compete for free, with a medal as the only prize. Coe declined to speculate on whether other disciplines might follow World Athletics’ lead.
“I have always made it clear that I do not speak on behalf of other sports,” Coe said.
World Athletics’ decision could be interpreted as a sign of Coe’s intentions for the Olympic Games at home that he decides to run for the IOC presidency.
“I haven’t ruled it out,” Coe said last year when asked whether he would run for the Olympic movement’s top job when Thomas Bach’s term ends in 2025. The IOC disapproves of publicly campaigning for the presidency and the declaration de Coe led to criticism of Bach.
Source: AP
