Athletics has become the first sport to offer prize money to Olympic champions, announcing on Wednesday that the 48 gold medalists in Paris this year will earn USD 50,000 each to end a 128-year tradition.
Although the concept of purely amateur competition has long since disappeared from the modern Olympics, with athletes often receiving payments from sponsors and professionals taking part for more than 30 years, the World Athletics decision is a major shift for the Games to deal with.
“This is an issue for our sport,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe told reporters.
“But I don’t believe this is remotely at variance with the concept that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) often talks about, which is recognizing the efforts that our competitors make for the overall success of the Games.”
“This is an issue for our sport,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe told reporters.
“But I don’t believe this is remotely at variance with the concept that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) often talks about, which is recognizing the efforts that our competitors make for the overall success of the Games.”
Coe stated that there had been no discussion about the plan with the International Olympic Committee, but that his organization had given the IOC a heads-up shortly before announcing the USD 2.4 million prize pot.
“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 make sure some of the revenues generated by our athletes at the Olympics are directly returned to those who make the Games the global spectacle that it is,” Coe said.
The IOC, which has yet to comment on the development, distributes revenues from the Olympics to the international federations. A total of USD 540 million was allocated to the 28 sports at the Tokyo Games, with World Athletics receiving the most at USD 40 million.
Amateur ethos
The amateur ethos of the Olympics, severely undermined by the success of state-sponsored competitors from the former Eastern Bloc, was swept away when the IOC agreed to allow professional athletes to compete in tennis, soccer, and ice hockey at the 1988 Seoul Games.
Basketball followed in 1992, and superstar professionals from the NBA gained huge attention when coming together in the United States ’Dream Team.’
Despite the continuing lack of prize money, athletes in many sports receive hefty bonuses from their governments and sponsors for triumphing in the biggest of shop windows.
Although athletics is the Olympics’ biggest sport by number of participants and TV audiences, however, the vast majority of athletes, including many medalists, face a constant struggle for funding.
In 1992, the concept of trust funds for athletes was introduced, and gold medalists at the 1993 world championships in Stuttgart received Mercedes cars. Gold medalists at last year’s world championships earned USD 70,000, only USD 10,000 more than when prize money was introduced in 1997.
Olympic silver and bronze medalists in athletics will also receive prize money, but only from the 2028 Los Angeles Games, with details to be announced at a later date.
“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 make sure some of the revenues generated by our athletes at the Olympics are directly returned to those who make the Games the global spectacle that it is,” Coe said.
The IOC, which has yet to comment on the development, distributes revenues from the Olympics to the international federations. A total of USD 540 million was allocated to the 28 sports at the Tokyo Games, with World Athletics receiving the most at USD 40 million.
Amateur ethos
The amateur ethos of the Olympics, severely undermined by the success of state-sponsored competitors from the former Eastern Bloc, was swept away when the IOC agreed to allow professional athletes to compete in tennis, soccer, and ice hockey at the 1988 Seoul Games.
Basketball followed in 1992, and superstar professionals from the NBA gained huge attention when coming together in the United States ’Dream Team.’
Despite the continuing lack of prize money, athletes in many sports receive hefty bonuses from their governments and sponsors for triumphing in the biggest of shop windows.
Although athletics is the Olympics’ biggest sport by number of participants and TV audiences, however, the vast majority of athletes, including many medalists, face a constant struggle for funding.
In 1992, the concept of trust funds for athletes was introduced, and gold medalists at the 1993 world championships in Stuttgart received Mercedes cars. Gold medalists at last year’s world championships earned USD 70,000, only USD 10,000 more than when prize money was introduced in 1997.
Olympic silver and bronze medalists in athletics will also receive prize money, but only from the 2028 Los Angeles Games, with details to be announced at a later date.
Source: Reuters
More In Sports MORE...
