Current:Home > FinanceTrack and field's decision to award prize money to Olympic gold medalists criticized-LoTradeCoin
Track and field's decision to award prize money to Olympic gold medalists criticized
View Date:2024-12-23 14:20:32
The decision to give track and field gold medalists $50,000 at the Paris Olympics is being criticized by Olympic sports bodies who said the move "undermines the values of Olympism and the uniqueness of the games."
Last week, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe broke with tradition when it announced that starting this summer, gold medalists across the 48 events on the track and field program would split $2.4 million from the sport's share of the International Olympic Committee's multi-billion dollar income.
World Athletics got about $39.5 million from the IOC for the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021.
"The introduction of prize money for Olympic gold medalists is a pivotal commitment to empowering the athletes and recognizing the critical role they play in the success of any Olympic Games," Coe said in a statement during the announcement.
Coe, a two-time Olympic champion in the men's 1,5000 meters and former lawmaker in the British parliament, said the money acknowledged that "athletes are the stars of the show."
The International Olympic Committee does not pay prize money, though many state governments and national Olympic bodies do.
The break in tradition, however, is not sitting well with the Association of Summer Olympic Committee, which issued a statement on Friday criticizing the move.
"For many, this move undermines the values of Olympism and the uniqueness of the games," the group, also known by the acronym ASOIF, said Friday. "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."
In its statement, the ASOIF said World Athletics did not inform nor consult them in advance of last week's announcement and raised concern that it was done one day after the ASOIF General Assembly. Coe is a member of the ASOIF ruling council.
"During the last days, ASOIF's membership has expressed several concerns about World Athletics' announcement," the group, based in the Olympic home city Lausanne, Switzerland, said.
ASOIF suggested that "not all sports could or should replicate this move, even if they wanted to." Paying prize money "goes against the principle of solidarity" and could take money away from governing bodies' work which was their duty compared to commercial promoters of sports events.
"If the Olympic Games are considered as the pinnacle of each sport, then the prize money should be comparable to, and commensurate with, the prizes given in the respective top competitions of each sport," the group said. "This is technically and financially unfeasible."
In its statement, ASOIF also fueled speculation about the IOC presidential contest next year when Thomas Bach's 12-year limit expires. However, his allies want the Olympic Charter changed to let him stay while Coe turns 68 this year and could be stopped by age limit rules.
The backlash from Olympic sports — whose leaders are among about 100 IOC members who elect the president — likely was predicted by Coe, who has elevated the issue of how to reward athletes in the often insular world of IOC politics.
The cash promise was popular with United States athletes in various sports preparing to compete in Paris, who can earn $37,500 from their team for gold medals, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze. The Paris Olympics start on July 26.
- In:
- Paris
- Olympics
veryGood! (14997)
Related
- These Michael Kors’ Designer Handbags Are All Under $150 With an Extra 22% off for Singles’ Day
- TikToker Eva Evans, Creator of Club Rat Series, Dead at 29
- Tyler Reddick wins NASCAR Talladega race as leaders wreck coming to checkered flag
- Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
- Auburn surges, while Kansas remains No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports men's basketball poll
- Blake Snell is off to a disastrous start. How did signing so late impact these MLB free agents?
- Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson pledged $10M for Maui wildfire survivors. They gave much more.
- Millionaire Matchmaker’s Patti Stanger Reveals Her Updated Rules For Dating
- Biden, Harris participate in Veterans Day ceremony | The Excerpt
- At least 2 killed, 6 others wounded in Memphis block party shooting
Ranking
- Amazon Prime Video to stream Diamond Sports' regional networks
- On the heels of historic Volkswagen union vote, Starbucks asks Supreme Court to curb labor's power
- Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
- Biden leans on young voters to flip North Carolina
- Kelly Rowland and Nelly Reunite for Iconic Performance of Dilemma 2 Decades Later
- Singer Renée Fleming unveils healing powers of music in new book, Music and Mind
- When is Earth Day 2024? Why we celebrate the day that's all about environmental awareness
- From Cher to Ozzy Osbourne, see the 2024 list of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees
Recommendation
-
California man allegedly shot couple and set their bodies, Teslas on fire in desert
-
U.S. sanctions two entities over fundraising for extremist West Bank settlers who attacked Palestinians
-
Celebrity handbag designer sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling crocodile handbags
-
Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy dies months after being injured in fire inside mobile gun range
-
Guns smuggled from the US are blamed for a surge in killings on more Caribbean islands
-
The Best Reef-Safe & Reef-Friendly Sunscreens to Protect Your Skin & the Environment
-
Columbine school shooting victims remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
-
Parents arrested after 1-month-old twins were found dead at Houston home in October 2023