World Athletics’ Cash for Paris Olympic Winners Debated Worldwide

Winning an Olympic gold medal gives an athlete a spot in history, the chance to forever be called a gold medalist and go down in the record books.

But in the modern era of the Games, athletes have pointed out repeatedly how those things are intrinsic but do not pay the increasing bills that come with being at a world-class level. So when World Athletics said it will pay $50,000 to gold medalists in Paris at the 2024 Olympic Summer Games (relay teams will split $50,000 between their members), it has been a major talking point within the athletics community and beyond.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe, a two-time Olympic champion in the men’s 1,500 meters, said $2.4 million from his sport’s share of the IOC’s multi-billion-dollar income will be used to distribute winnings to athletes. A former lawmaker in the British parliament, Coe said the money acknowledged that “athletes are the stars of the show” with plans to expand the payments to all medalists for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

“I think there’s a big misconception amongst Olympic athletes – in regard to the public – I think they think you make the Olympics and if you win a medal, that you’re a millionaire,” said Ryan Crouser in mid-April at the Team USA Media Summit in New York City. “I know that it doesn’t really work that way. You win the Olympics and you get a lot of recognition, but in terms of financial gain, the day you win the Olympics, you have zero dollars added to your bank account, in that aspect. So, any way we can help out athletes, I think, is great. I will never be against athletes being paid more money.”

Athletes in track and field are speaking out more about the financial sacrifices that they make to compete at the elite level without having elite compensation. Four-time Olympic Champion Michael Johnson has launched Grand Slam Track, a new global professional track competition with plans to launch in the spring of next year with four events around the world and a prize pool of $12.6 million. World Athletics will also start a new competition featuring a $10 million prize pool for gold medalists called ‘Ultimate Championship’ with its inaugural competition in September 2026 in Budapest.

The idea of paying athletes for performance is not unusual; the U.S Olympic and Paralympic Committee runs “Project Gold,” which gives $37,500 for gold, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze. But even that money is not enough for an Olympian to live on; Crouser said he knows of athletes who have won world championship medals who work multiple jobs to survive, a common theme among athletes.

“I have a friend who’s a hammer thrower, he’s one of the best in the world at his event and he has to work another job,” said Fiona O’Keefe, the surprise winner of the women’s Olympic Marathon Trials. “And he shouldn’t have to, because he’s every bit as elite as I am, so I think it’s great that there’s some effort to equalize things.”

The intrigue over the payments also goes beyond track and field.

“I definitely think that would help a lot of swimmers stay in the sport,” said swimmer Kate Douglass. “There’s definitely a lot of swimmers that only if you’re at the top of the sport that you can make a living out of it. That might help some other swimmers who may not be at the top of their event consider staying in the sport longer.”

“From my point of view the USOPC has done an amazing job helping its athletes on the swimming side,” said swimmer Bobby Finke. “I know there’s still a lot of struggles out there. I was very fortunate enough to be able to make a career out of this. I don’t exactly know what the whole stipulation is for World Athletics. … I’d love more money the better, but I also want to make sure we put the money in the right area of growing the sport.”

Olympic Family Not Pleased

Since Coe made the announcement, there has been plenty of reaction throughout the Olympic community … and outside of the track community, nobody is pleased with it.

“This move undermines the values of Olympism and the uniqueness of the games,” the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations said.

“If we concentrate money on top athletes, a lot of opportunities will disappear for athletes all over the world,” said International Cycling Union President David Lappartient, an influential IOC member. “The Olympic spirit is to share revenues and have more athletes compete worldwide. Not only put all the money on the top athletes but spread the money.”

“In the Olympic Games, athletes compete for their countries, they are competing with their flags and the NOCs are the responsible party for those athletes,” said International Skating Union President Jae Youl Kim. “It is common that NOCs provide renumeration and prize money to the high-performance athletes. I believe that’s the way to do it.”

“Each pillar of the Olympic movement has its role to play,” IOC President Thomas Bach told Agence France-Presse, adding “It’s very clear what the responsibility of an international federation is and what the responsibility of a national Olympic committee is.”

Well, there is one other international federation that agrees with World Athletics — the International Boxing Association, which shortly after World Athletics’ announcement said it would pay $100,000 to gold medalists, $50,000 for silver medals and $25,000 for bronze, with IBA President Umar Kremlev saying, “our athletes and their efforts must be appreciated.”

The IBA announcement was not appreciated by the IOC, which expelled the IBA from the Olympic movement last year and said boxing’s spot at future Olympic Games is in peril, adding “as always with the IBA, it is unclear where the money is coming from.”

Where the money is coming from is not a problem for World Athletics, which received $39.48 million from the IOC for the 2020 Games, the most of any federation.

“It’s nice to see World Athletics lead the way on something that I think is long overdue,” said NBC analyst Sanya Richards-Ross, a four-time Olympic gold medalist. “Most of the athletes that compete in the Olympics nowadays are not amateur; the majority of athletes you see compete are professional. And just like any other profession, they should be rewarded for their efforts, so I’m really, really, really proud that World Athletics is doing something this huge.”