the international athletics federation will pay $50,000 to its gold medalists – Libération

The president of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, says he wants to “recognize the crucial role” of athletes, through this measure which is a world first.

Would an Olympic bonus have been to the taste of Baron Pierre de Coubertin? World Athletics announced this Wednesday April 10 that it would become the first sports federation to reward gold medalists, by paying $50,000 (approximately 46,000 euros) to all athletes who win their event during the Paris Olympic Games , organized from July 26 to August 11. The overall endowment of the international athletics federation, which will therefore pay a reward at the end of 48 events (the torchbearers having to share the sum of 50,000 dollars), will reach 2.4 million dollars.

It will be taken from the allocation paid every four years by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to World Athletics, which assures in a press release that it will also pay bonuses to silver and bronze medalists from the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028. “The introduction of a bonus for Olympic gold medalists is a key moment for World Athletics and for athletics in general, which underlines our commitment to empowering athletes, and recognizing the vital role they play during all editions of the Olympic Games,” greeted the president of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, quoted in the press release. “It is the continuation of a movement started in 2015, and by which all the money that World Athletics receives from the International Olympic Committee is paid directly to our sport,” he assured.

Professionalization

“This is good progress because, until now, there was no funding for the Olympic Games. This will increase the importance of a winning performance. We are clearly in a sport where the financial aspect is a little behind compared to others,” said French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie to AFP. But British former Olympic triple jump gold medalist Jonathan Edwards – still the world record holder in the specialty – was more circumspect. “You would think that this will be especially important for those who are second or third. The big winners are the gold medalists and they will have contractual benefits and $50,000 won’t make much difference to most Olympic champions. It’s a bit weird, I don’t really see what the reasoning is.”

“It’s a very good initiative from World Athletics,” said Norwegian sprinter Karsten Warholm. “I think this is their way of showing that they want to push even harder for this to become a professional sport.” “It doesn’t change my motivation honestly. For me, the gold medal is the only thing that matters,” he added.

“Recognition of efforts”

In statements to journalists, Sebastian Coe recalled that the athletics events at the Olympics “will attract millions of viewers”. “I don’t think this contradicts the principle often mentioned by the International Olympic Committee of recognizing the efforts that competitors make to contribute to the success of the Games in general,” he stressed. He said World Athletics had informed the IOC of its initiative on Wednesday and there had been no discussion before that.