The world’s top governing body for athletics announced the revolutionary move in April. Athletes who win gold at the Summer Olympic Games (LOH) in Paris will receive a financial reward of 50,000 dollars, which is roughly 1.2 million crowns, from World Athletics.
The International Sports Federation also said that in 2028 – when the Olympics will be held in Los Angeles – it wants to extend the payment of rewards to silver and bronze medalists. World athletics has set aside about 2.4 million dollars for the athletes, which will be divided among the winners in 48 categories. The decision is now resonating in a number of sports organizations and provoking criticism.
For example, the head of the British Olympic Association (BOA), Andy Anson, does not agree that World Athletics is acting on its own. “They create a problem because now other organizations will face pressure from athletes asking, ‘What about our sport? How come they can do it and we can’t?’ It’s a debate we can have, but we have to have it together at the right time in the right place,” commented Anson to The Guardian.
At the same time, he added that the strength of the Olympic family lies in the fact that all sports work together. According to him, it is neither appropriate nor useful for one sport to stand out in a similar way.
Critics resent the departure from tradition
David Lappartient, president of the International Cycling Union (UCI), also criticizes the plans of World Athletics. According to him, this step is against the “principles of Olympianism”. “The Olympic spirit is about sharing revenue and getting more athletes to compete around the world. It’s not just about paying the best athletes, it’s about distributing the money,” he told the BBC.
Critics also have a problem with the departure from tradition. The Olympic Games began as an amateur sports event – the shift from amateur athletes to professionals, who carried the potential to bring money to the Olympic Games, came only in the 1990s, when amateurism was removed from the Olympic Charter, the Associated Press agency reminds.
For that reason, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not award monetary rewards to medalists. Instead, it redistributes funding through National Olympic Committees and international federations such as World Athletics.
In addition, it is up to the individual states how they value their Olympians – through committees or other bodies. The financial evaluation of the medalists is thus never equal. Athletes from the Czech Republic, for example, earned more at the Tokyo Olympics than those from the United States. How much the Czechs will earn this year is not yet clear, according to the spokesperson of the National Sports Agency, Eliška Machová, the final decision should be made at the end of May.
However, the president of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, a two-time Olympic champion, believes that there is a need to change the established order. “The world is completely different than it was when I was racing. Therefore, it is important that this sport realizes the change in the environment and the increased pressure on many competitors,” he justified his position.
Some former and current athletes welcome the decision. The Czech Athletic Association, which is a member of World Athletics, is in a similar situation. “We are always on the side of the athletes. We therefore welcome every benefit that is provided to them. Nevertheless, the primary and absolutely key reward for us is the reward provided to all athletes, including athletes, by the National Sports Agency, i.e. the Czech Olympic Committee,” the chairman of the Czech Athletics Association, Libor Varhaník, told Seznam Zprávy.
A “pivotal moment” for athletics
The International Olympic Committee to pay athletes said that how the governing bodies of individual sports deal with their income is up to them, the Associated Press reported.
However, the Association of International Summer Olympic Federations (ASOIF) has lightly objected to World Athletics’ plans, saying it was “not informed of the move” and that World Athletics had not even consulted it about the decision – despite being one of its members. ASOIF added that some of the sports organizations it represents had “expressed concerns”.
Coe admitted to the Associated Press that he announced the decision on the financial rewards to the IOC just before World Athletics announced it to the public. And even if there are objections from some quarters, the federation continues to stand by the need to properly appreciate successful athletes.
“The introduction of prize money for Olympic gold medalists is a pivotal moment for world athletics and athletics as a whole, underscoring our commitment to empowering athletes and recognizing their key role in the success of all Olympic Games,” the organization said in a statement on its website.
In addition, the organization added that it also wants the funds to go “directly to those who make the games a world spectacle”. However, some point out that athletes will be favored over other athletes, as the decision of World Athletics will bring them additional income, which competitors in other disciplines are “deprived” of.
