Track and field athletes who will win gold in the next Summer Olympics in Paris will leave with an additional $50,000, World Athletics announced on Wednesday. This historic decision makes athletics the first sport to introduce prize money at the Olympic Games.
The move marks a symbolic break from the Olympics’ amateur past in one of the most-watched events of the Games.
Track and field officials said they are setting aside $2.4 million to pay gold medalists in the 48 events in this year’s Paris Olympics track and field program. Relay teams will share the $50,000 among their members. Payments for silver and bronze medalists are expected to begin from the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“The introduction of prize money for Olympic gold medalists is a crucial commitment to empower athletes and recognize the essential role they play in the success of all Olympic Games,” said World Athletics President, Sebastian Coe, in a press release.
The prize money will come from the share of Olympic revenue that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) distributes to World Athletics.
“While it is impossible to put a market value on winning an Olympic medal, or on the commitment and focus it takes to represent your country at the Olympic Games, I think it is important to start somewhere and ensure that a portion of the revenue generated by our athletes at the Olympic Games goes directly back to those who make the Games the global spectacle that they are,” Coe said.
Coe, a British runner who won gold in the 1,500 meters at the 1980 and 1984 Games, told reporters that World Athletics informed the IOC of its intentions on Wednesday morning, shortly before releasing its announcement. CBS News has contacted the IOC for comment and is awaiting a response.
Athletes will have to go through “usual anti-doping procedures” at the Olympics before receiving the new prize money, World Athletics added.
The modern Olympic Games are originally an amateur sporting event and the IOC does not award prize money. However, many medalists receive payments from their country’s government, national sporting bodies or sponsors.
The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee awarded $37,500 to the gold medalists of the last Tokyo Summer Games in 2021. Singapore’s National Olympic Council pledges $1 million for Olympic gold, a feat achieved only once so far by a Singaporean competitor.
In sports like tennis and golf, the Olympic tournament is the only time of the season when many professional players compete for free, with medals offered but no prize money. But Coe didn’t want to speculate on whether other events might follow track and field’s lead.
Grub5
