In a landmark move, the track and field are all set to introduce prize money at the Olympics 2024 for the very first time to the gold medalists at the Paris event. The medal winners are to set earn a whopping $50,000 each - Rs 41 Lakhs approx. (More Sports News)
The governing body of athletics said it was setting aside $2.4 million to pay the gold medalists across the 48 events on the track and field program for this year’s Paris Olympics.
Relay teams will split the $50,000 between their members. Payments for silver and bronze medalists are planned to start from the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“While it is impossible to put a marketable value on winning an Olympic medal, or on the commitment and focus it takes to even represent your country at an Olympic Games, I think it is important we start somewhere and make sure some of the revenues generated by our athletes at the Olympic Games are directly returned to those who make the Games the global spectacle that it is,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said in a statement.
The prize money will come out of the share of Olympic revenue that the IOC distributes to World Athletics and other governing bodies of individual sports.
The payment of prize money will depend upon the World Athletics ratification process, including athletes undergoing and clearing the usual anti-doping procedures.
Each individual Olympic champion will receive US$50,000. Relay teams will receive the same amount, to be shared among the team. The format and structure of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic bonuses will be announced nearer the time.
(With AP inputs)
