International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has expressed his suggestion to World Athletics during a media roundtable. Bach proposed that instead of offering prize money to gold medal winners at the Paris Olympics, World Athletics should focus its funding on supporting athletes at the other end of the spectrum.
IOC’s proposal to World Athletics
Bach’s comments came in response to World Athletics’ decision to break with a 128-year tradition and offer prize money to its athletes. This move was welcomed by many athletes but met with sharp criticism from other international sports federations.
In April this year, World Athletics in an unprecedented move decided to reward the gold medallists of all 48 athletics events at the Paris Olympics with pay cheques. The World Athletics set aside $50,000 for that purpose.
“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,” the World Athletics had said in a statement.
Bach argued that it was not “the role of an international sports federation” to provide payments to athletes “for Olympic success,”. He suggested that this responsibility should fall to “sponsors, governments or private institutions”.
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