Track and Field will from this year’s Olympic Games become the first sport to reward athletes as the World Athletics announced a $50k incentive for Gold medal winners at the Paris Olympics.
After winning the World Championship and currently the World Record holder in women’s 100m hurdles, Nigeria star, Oluwatobiloba Amusan, is expected to add the Olympic Games gold to her array of laurels and with the prize money at stake, this will likely bring more athletes to go for the title.
Apart from Amusan, another athlete, Ese Brume has been knocking on the Olympics gold in women’s Long Jump after winning the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and bronze and silver at the World Championship as she looks forward to her first gold medal at the biggest sporting event in the world.
In a release by WA, the ruling body says it will award prize money at an Olympic Games for the first time, starting at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
A total prize pot of US$2.4 million has been ring-fenced from the International Olympic Committee’s revenue share allocation, which is received by World Athletics every four years. This will be used to reward athletes who win a gold medal in each of the 48 athletics events in Paris with US$50,000.
World Athletics also revealed its “firm commitment to extend the prize money at a tiered level, to Olympic silver and bronze medal winners at the LA 2028 Olympic Games.
“The introduction of prize money for Olympic gold medallists is a pivotal moment for World Athletics and the sport of athletics as a whole, underscoring our commitment to empowering the athletes and recognising the critical role they play in the success of any Olympic Games.
“This is the continuation of a journey we started back in 2015, which sees all the money World Athletics receives from the International Olympic Committee for the Olympic Games go directly back into our sport.”
Amusan, Brume, others in bumper Olympics
