April 11, (THEWILL) – Track and field is set to become the first sport to introduce prize money at the Olympics, with World Athletics announcing on Wednesday that it would pay $50,000 to gold medalists in Paris.
The move represents a symbolic break from the amateur roots of the Olympics in one of the games’ most-watched events. World Athletics said it would set aside $2.4 million to pay the gold medalists across the 48 men’s, women’s and mixed track and field events in Paris, with relay teams splitting the prize.
World Athletics President, Sebastian Coe, stated that the decision is meant “to recognise that the revenue share that we receive is in large part because our athletes are the stars of the show.” The prize money will come from the share of Olympic revenue distributed to World Athletics by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
However, the move has the potential to upset the balance of power in the Olympic movement ahead of the Paris Games, as Coe said World Athletics only informed the IOC of its intentions on the morning of the announcement. In response, the IOC said it was up to each sport’s governing body to determine how to spend its share of Olympic revenue.
The modern Olympics were founded as an amateur sports event, and the IOC does not award prize money. But many medalists already receive payments from their countries’ governments, national sports bodies or sponsors. Coe, a former Olympic gold medalist, acknowledged the “completely different planet” of the current Olympic landscape, saying the move is important to recognise the “added pressures on many competitors.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
