The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) has made clear it is unhappy with World Athletics’ decision to award prize money to gold medalists in Paris.
The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), an umbrella organization for Olympic sports federations, said World Athletics’ decision to award prize money to medalists “undermines the values of Olympicism “.
The statement clearly shows how unhappy the organization is with World Athletics president Sebastian Coe’s decision to award track and field gold medalists a $50,000 prize at the Paris Games.
This decision, announced last week, was a first for a federation at the Olympic Games. He said he would award cash prizes to all Los Angeles medalists in 2028.
ASOIF, which has 30 full members and two associate members, said: “This decision undermines the values of Olympism and the unique character of the Games. We cannot and should not put a price on an Olympic gold medal.
“This does not take into account the less privileged athletes who are at the bottom of the final rankings.”
He said other Olympic sports cannot afford to offer prize money.
“Not all sports could or should replicate this approach, even if they wanted to,” ASOIF said.
The organization added that it accepted plans by National Olympic Committees and governments to “reward athletes for outstanding performances… for the purposes of national pride and… consistently across all sports at the Olympic Games.”
He also said there was consensus that where sports have a surplus, Olympic revenues should “be invested as a priority in development and integrity”.
The organization was also unhappy that Coe announced the decision without discussing it with other federations and without first informing the International Olympic Committee.
“ASOIF was neither informed nor consulted prior to this announcement, which was made the day after the ASOIF General Assembly,” she specifies, adding “that it is important and fair to discuss the issue in advance with the other federations.
World Athletics later said its decision to award cash prizes was intended to “underline our unwavering commitment to empowering athletes and recognizing the essential role they play in the success of all Olympic Games.”
He said he recognized it was impossible to put a “market value” on winning an Olympic medal.
“But we believe it is important to ensure that a portion of the revenue generated by our athletes at the Olympic Games goes directly to those who make the Games the global spectacle that they are,” World Athletics added.
This decision angered some sports officials while athletes welcomed it.
World Athletics’ total prize fund of $2.4 million will come from the International Olympic Committee’s share of revenue the federation receives every four years.
(with contributions from AFP)
