World Athletics announce five-figure bounty for Olympic gold medals

Pressure is mounting on the Olympics’ major sports after one governing body announced a significant cash bonus for gold medal winners in its events.

Winning Olympic gold is the ultimate honour and now it comes with a significant cash bonus for track and field athletes.

In a move which will put pressure on the other major Olympic sports, World Athletics has put a bounty on Olympic gold.

Australia’s reigning world champion Nina Kennedy could pocket $76,000 if she can repeat her victory in the pole vault in Paris.

Athletics is the first sport to introduce prize money at the Olympics with payments for silver and bronze medals planned to begin at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The athletics governing body is setting aside $3.6 million to pay the gold medallist across 48 events on the Paris track and field program. Relay teams will split the $76,000 between their members.

World Athletics paid gold medallists at last year’s world championships in Budapest $107,000 with an extra $150,000 for breaking a world record.

A gold medal in Paris would earn Nina Kennedy a handsome payday. Picture: Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Sebastian Coe, the World Athletics president, described the introduction of Olympic prize money as a “pivotal moment” for the sport.

“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,” he said.

“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.

“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.”

Some country’s governments and national sports bodies have previously offered cash incentives for Olympic gold medals while athlete sponsors also provide payments for the ultimate achievement.

Originally published as World Athletics announce five-figure bounty for Olympic gold medals