World Athletics to become first international federation to award prize money at Olympic Games

April 10, 2024

World Athletics has announced it will become the first international federation to award prize money at the Olympic Games.

The global governing body said a total prize pot of US$2.4 million will be offered for this summer's Olympics in Paris, with gold medallists receiving US$50,000. This will be extended to silver and bronze medallists at Los Angeles 2028.

World Athletics President Lord Sebatian Coe called the decision a "pivotal moment", telling the BBC that the organisation wanted to create a "stable financial landscape" for athletes.

There will be 48 athletics events in Paris, with relay gold medallists to share their prize money among the team.

The prize money will not apply at the Paralympics.

Lord Coe advised "the introduction of prize money for Olympic gold medallists is a pivotal moment for World Athletics and the sport of athletics as a whole, underscoring our commitment to empowering the athletes and recognising the critical role they play in the success of any Olympic Games.

"While it is impossible to put a marketable value on winning an Olympic medal, or on the commitment and focus it takes to even represent your country at an Olympic Games, I think it is important we start somewhere and make sure some of the revenues generated by our athletes at the Olympic Games are directly returned to those who make the Games the global spectacle that it is."

Asked if prize money went against the Olympic spirit, Coe defended the move, stating "I don't see that making life a little easier for the athletes, allowing them maybe to stay on in the sport a little bit longer, to give them the financial independence to train, and maybe in a more sophisticated way is anything other than sitting behind good firm Olympic principles."

World Athletics said the format and structure of prize money for the 2028 Games will be announced nearer the time, adding that the payment of prize money will depend on athletes "undergoing and clearing the usual anti-doping procedures".

Given the Olympics' origins as an amateur sports event, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not award prize money but distributes funding through international federations (IF) and national Olympic committees (NOC).

The Australian Olympic Committee has a medal incentive scheme, which sees athletes paid $20,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for a bronze medal.

However, Australian athletes only get one payment for their best result, and it's conditional on them maintaining their training for the next Olympics.

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee awarded $US37,500 to gold medallists at the last Summer Games in Tokyo in 2021. Singapore's National Olympic Council promises $S1 million ($1.1 million) for Olympic gold, a feat only achieved once so far by a Singaporean competitor.

Image credit: Shutterstock.

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