Current:Home > Contact-usPrize money for track & field Olympic gold medalists is 'right thing to do'-InfoLens
Prize money for track & field Olympic gold medalists is 'right thing to do'
View Date:2024-12-23 14:26:43
PARIS – There’s extra incentive for track and field athletes to win gold at the Paris Olympics.
World Athletics, the international governing body for track and field, is awarding prize money for gold medalists in Paris. They are the first international federation to award prize money at an Olympic Games.
World Athletics announced on April 10 that it set aside $2.4 million from the International Olympic Committee’s revenue share allocation that it receives every four years. The money will be used to reward athletes $50,000 for winning a gold medal in each of the 48 track and field events in Paris.
"Part of our strategy going forward, and it has been for the last few years, to make sure we reward our athletes. They are the stars of the show. I think they deserve as our income grows to share an increased part of that," World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon said Thursday at their Olympic press conference. "It’s the right thing to do."
➤ Get Olympics updates in your texts! Join USA TODAY Sports' WhatsApp Channel
2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.
The federation received criticism from Olympic sport bodies following its prize money announcement.
"First, for many, this move undermines the values of Olympism and the uniqueness of the Games," Association of Summer Olympic International Federations said in a statement. "One cannot and should not put a price on an Olympic gold medal and, in many cases, Olympic medalists indirectly benefit from commercial endorsements. This disregards the less privileged athletes lower down the final standings."
The International Olympic Committee doesn’t pay prize money. However, governments or national Olympic committees pay athletes who reach the podium. The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee will pay $37,500 for every gold medal in Paris, $22,500 for every silver and $15,000 for each bronze.
World Athletics is committed to extend the initiative for Olympic silver and bronze medalists at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Cross country at Winter Olympics?
Cross country is a sport that takes place in the winter months. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe hopes the sport can soon find a place in the Winter Olympics. Coe, who's had tentative discussions about adding cross country to the Winter Olympics, believes the inclusion of cross country will draw more attention to the sport and bring large contingents from countries in Africa to the Winter Games.
"We've had good discussions," Coe said Thursday. "I think its obvious home is the Winter (Olympics). To use a cricket analogy, there's more than an outside edge of a chance that we could probably get this across the line."
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
veryGood! (33)
Related
- Jimmy Kimmel, more late-night hosts 'shocked' by Trump Cabinet picks: 'Goblins and weirdos'
- 2024 starts with off-the-charts heat in the oceans. Here's what could happen next.
- Rams vs. Lions wild card playoff highlights: Detroit wins first postseason game in 32 years
- Joyce Randolph, 'Honeymooners' actress in beloved comedy, dies at 99
- Wisconsin authorities believe kayaker staged his disappearance and fled to Europe
- Ohio mom charged after faking her daughter's cancer for donations: Sheriff's office
- Pennsylvania woman retires from McDonald's after 45 years
- Fueled by unprecedented border crossings, a record 3 million cases clog US immigration courts
- Eminem, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, N.W.A. and Janet Jackson get Songwriters Hall of Fame nods
- Photos show the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Ranking
- 'Dangerous and unsanitary' conditions at Georgia jail violate Constitution, feds say
- What a new leader means for Taiwan and the world
- Would Bill Belichick join Jerry Jones? Cowboys could be right – and wrong – for coach
- Archeologists uncover lost valley of ancient cities in the Amazon rainforest
- Watch as massive amount of crabs scamper across Australian island: 'It's quite weird'
- Indonesia evacuates about 6,500 people on the island of Flores after a volcano spews clouds of ash
- No joke: Feds are banning humorous electronic messages on highways
- Shih Ming-teh, Taiwan activist who pushed for democracy, dies at 83
Recommendation
-
Burger King's 'Million Dollar Whopper' finalists: How to try and vote on your favorite
-
Horse racing in China’s gaming hub of Macao to end in April, after over 40 years
-
Denmark’s Queen Margrethe abdicates from the throne, son Frederik X becomes king
-
Could Callum Turner Be the One for Dua Lipa? Here's Why They're Sparking Romance Rumors
-
See Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani's Winning NFL Outing With Kids Zuma and Apollo
-
In Uganda, refugees’ need for wood ravaged the forest. Now, they work to restore it
-
Denmark’s Queen Margrethe abdicates from the throne, son Frederik X becomes king
-
Alaska legislators start 2024 session with pay raises and a busy docket