Grant Fisher and Abdihamid Nur compete during the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials at Hayward Field on June 30, 2024 in Eugene, Oregon. Participated in the men’s 5000m final during the ten-day competition.
Patrick Smith | Getty Images Sports | Getty Images
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has defended his decision to pay bonuses to track and field gold medalists for the first time at this summer’s Paris Olympics and said the move could be extended to future games.
The former GB athlete and four-time Olympic medalist told CNBC last week it would be “inconsistent” for sports governing bodies to benefit from lucrative broadcast and sponsorship deals without compensating their star athletes.
“Essentially, athletes are the bearers of our revenue,” he told CNBC’s Tania Blair.
“Their performances at the Olympics and our own World Championships provide World Athletics with IOC and World Championship level broadcast revenue,” he continued.
“They have the primary responsibility for the funding, revenue streams and sponsorship of the sport. I always think it’s important to recognize that.”
In April, Coe surprised the sports world by announcing that gold medalists in each of the 48 track and field events in Paris would receive $50,000 for the first time at this year’s Olympics.
The move was welcomed by all parties But it sparked a backlash from bosses in other sports, who claimed that measuring performance in terms of money went against the spirit of the Olympics.
Five-time British Olympic rowing champion Steve Redgrave told the BBC in May It will create an “us and them situation” between sports.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not pay medal prizes directly. Last month the International Olympic Committee explain It is “common practice” for national Olympic committees, as well as governments, sponsors and other private entities, to provide financial rewards for athlete performance.
Coe said the move was part of a broader two-part strategy he has developed since becoming chairman in 2015 to better recognize competitors. to support athletes and cover program costs.
However, he noted that direct payments to gold medalists would provide greater “financial viability” and longer-term opportunities for athletes and their families.
“It would be inconsistent for me as president of World Athletics to talk about new revenue streams and sponsors, you know, for example sony We have only raised this point in the past few months, but also failed to recognize that the reason for financial viability is athlete performance,” he said.
“I think they should be involved. Simply put, that’s why we do it.”
Coe, who is serving his third term as World Athletics president, dismissed rumors that he could succeed Thomas Bach as IOC president. He said he would be “focused on every minute of the remaining three years of his term.”
The Olympics will open in Paris on July 26 and run until August 11, with the Paralympics starting later that month.
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