Paris Olympics 2024: Cash prize for athletics criticised

While athletes are busy preparing their minds and bodies for the upcoming Olympics in Paris there's another subject that's also being discussed - money.

World Athletics has announced it will become the first organisation in history to award a cash prize for a gold medal at the Olympic Games.

It's currently up to national Olympic committees and international sports federations to decide what athletes will win.

However, the move has been met with some criticism as it could mean that while athletics winners end up with thousands of pounds, champions in other sports may go without.

World Athletics said a total prize pot of £1.9m has been made available for this summer's Olympics in Paris, with gold medallists receiving £39,400.

Silver and bronze medallists will then also be rewarded at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. World Athletics said the format and structure of prize money for the 2028 Games will be announced nearer the time.

World Athletics president Lord Sebastian Coe called the decision a "pivotal moment".

He told BBC Sport the organisation wanted to help support athletes financially.

There will be 48 athletics events in Paris, with relay gold medallists to share their prize money with their team.

It will not apply at the Paralympics, which takes place from 28 August to 8 September, as Para-athletics is governed by World Para Athletics.

The modern Olympics started as an amateur event, so the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not award prize money.

Instead the IOC gives out funding through international federations (IF) and national Olympic committees (NOC).

This means medallists receive payments from their governments, sporting bodies or through sponsorship.

Some national Olympic committees offer financial rewards to their medallists, but the British Olympic Association does not.

The IOC said: "It is up to each IF and NOC to determine how to best serve their athletes and the global development of their sport."

David Lappartient, president of cycling governing body UCI, said World Athletics had not discussed it with other federations.

"The Olympic spirit is to share revenues and have more athletes compete worldwide," he said. "Not only [to] put all the money on the top athletes but spread the money.

"If we concentrate money on top athletes, a lot of opportunities will disappear for athletes all over the world.

"We really believe that this is not the Olympic spirit."

British Olympic Association chief Andy Anson said the move has "created a problem" as one sport has gone and done something without discussing their plans.

He explained: "Now other sports are clearly going to get some scrutiny or even pressure from athletes saying 'well what about our sport, how can this sport do it and not us?'

"It's a debate we can have but we need to have it at the right time, and the right place, and together."

Duncan Scott is Great Britain's most decorated Olympic swimmer of all time. He believes the world's elite swimmers deserve the chance to compete for a cash reward too.

He said: "I definitely think it would be welcomed within swimming. It's taxing so much on the body in terms of 20-plus hours a week in the pool and so many gym sessions.

"It can be really tough being a swimmer in GB but Aquatics GB seem like they're wanting to move it in a positive direction."

Team GB swimmer Matt Richards feels it may become necessary for the International Olympic Committee to start awarding money to other medallists to make sure there is a fairness across all sports.

Matt explained: "If the IOC step up and say 'we'll put a blanket amount, this is how much the medals are worth across all sports, here you go', I think that would make a lot of athletes a lot happier."

Dame Denise Lewis, who has won two Olympic medals including gold in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics for Great Britain, said the announcement is "really positive", but added athletics "has not been a rich sport".

Dame Lewis said prize money would offer athletes a possible reason to continue competing.

However, Jonathan Edwards, GB gold medallist at Sydney 2000 and the men's triple jump world record holder, said the decision was "a little bit odd".

"It's not [World Athletics'] event, it's the Olympics. It feels like a bit of an undercut to the IOC, who have been very strict around saying 'we're not going to have prize money'", he said.

"Athletes who win at the Olympic Games already get rewards."

The countdown is on to the Games with the Paris Olympics taking place from Friday 26 Jul - Sunday 11 Aug 2024.