sport news Track and field gold medallists at Paris 2024 will each get nearly £40,000 in ... trends now
Athletics has broken a 128-year Olympic tradition by becoming the first sport to offer prize money to gold medallists.
In a ‘landmark decision’ announced by World Athletics president Lord Coe on Wednesday, each athlete who wins an individual track and field event in Paris will receive $50,000 (£39,400). Silver and bronze medallists will not be financially rewarded this summer, but they will be at the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.
Since the modern Games were founded as an amateur event in 1896, athletes have never received prize money from a sport’s governing body.
Coe, though, insists World Athletics’ radical move does not go against the spirit of the Olympics. ‘I don’t believe this is at variance with any deeply held philosophical commitment to the Olympic movement,’ said the 67-year-old, who won 1500metres gold for Great Britain in 1980 and 1984.
‘I think this fits very much with a contemporary template that we should do everything we can to recognise the performance and the primacy of athletes.
Gold medallists in track and field at the Paris 2024 Olympics will received £39,400 in prize money after World Athletics announced a £1.89m prize fund
World Athletics said they will reward gold medal winners this time with a view to introducing prize funds for silver and bronze winners from 2028 (pictured Elaine Thompson-Herah)
India's Neeraj Chopra shows off his gold medal after winning the men's javelin last time out
‘The world has changed. It is a completely different planet from when I was competing, so it’s really important that where possible we create a sport that is financially viable for our competitors. This is the beginning of that.
‘If I thought athletes were only competing because there was a financial pot at the end of the day, then I might take a very different view - but they are not.’
The $50,000 offer is for all 48 athletics events in Paris. In relay races, the money will be shared between the winning team members. Athletes will only be paid once they have cleared the usual anti-doping procedures.
The total $2.4m (£1.9m) prize pot will come from World Athletics’ share of the IOC’s broadcast revenue, which they are entitled to spend how they choose.
