CHENNAI: In a break from 128-year-old Olympic tradition, the World Athletics (WA) has announced prize money for gold medal winners at the Paris Olympics. This was announced by Sebastian Coe, president of WA, on Wednesday. This will be the first time any International Federation (IF) has announced prize money at the Olympics.
Responding to a query by The New Indian Express, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said its funds can be utilised by each IF or National Olympic Committee to best serve the athletes as they want.
“The IOC redistributes 90 per cent of all its income, in particular to the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and International Federations (IFs). This means that, every day, the equivalent of $4.2 million goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world. It is up to each IF and NOC to determine how to best serve their athletes and the global development of their sport,” the IOC said.
The WA also shared similar ways of meeting the funding. The WA said in a statement that “a total prize pot of US$2.4 million has been ring fenced from the International Olympic Committee’s revenue share allocation, which is received by World Athletics every four years. This will be used to reward athletes who win a gold medal in each of the 48 athletics events in Paris with US$50,000.” The relay teams will get the same amount that will be divided among the members of the team.
Coe said that it is an initiative that had to be made. “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,” he said.
