For the first time in history, World Athletics has become the first sports governing body to introduce prize money at the Olympics and will be paying gold medallists a cash reward of $50,000 in Paris.
The body announced this on X (formerly Twitter) that there will be prize money for Olympic champions and relay teams across 48 events, totaling US$2.4 million. This money comes from the International Olympic Committee’s revenue share allocation, which is received by World Athletics every four years.
“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,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe when sharing details of the decision.
“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,” he concluded.
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Meanwhile, Super Falcons head coach, Randy Waldrum has sent a passionate plea to the Minister of Sports, Sen John Enoh and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) as he seeks early and proper preparation for the team ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
It will be noted that the Super Falcons will battle Brazil, Spain and Japan in Group C of the female football event after defeating South Africa 1-0 on aggregate to pick the ticket.
The American coach made this plea during the post-match conference after breaking a 16-year jinx to pick a ticket to Paris.
“My plea is to the Minister of Sports and to the Federation to help us prepare properly. We need to camp in Europe to prepare for the group we have. We need proper training. We need proper transportation.
“We need to do things right because these women deserve this opportunity to represent our country in the best possible way as we know. If you look at our group, it’s the group of death. I am already thinking about what we need to do to get ready.”
“But we need some time to prepare and get our players together. I know how much it means to the fans of Nigeria and the NFF not to have qualified for 16 years. To them, I am very thankful and very happy,” he said.
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