Achi news desk-
Olympic sports bodies criticized World Athletics on Friday for promising to pay US$50,000 for every track and field gold medal won at the Paris Olympics.
Last week’s move by the track body and its president Sebastian Coe broke with tradition because the International Olympic Committee does not pay prize money, although many state governments and national Olympic bodies do.
“For many, this move undermines the values ​​of Olympianness and the uniqueness of the games,” the Association of International Summer Olympic Federations, known by the acronym ASOIF, said on Friday.
It also fueled speculation about next year’s IOC presidential contest when Thomas Bach’s 12-year term expires. However, his allies want the Olympic Charter changed to allow him to stay while Coe turns 68 this year and could be stopped by age limit rules.
Coe, a two-time Olympic champion in the men’s 1,500 meters, pledged US$2.4 million – US$50,000 for each of 48 gold medals in track and field – from his sport’s share of the IOC’s multibillion-dollar income. WA got about US$39.5 million from the IOC for the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021.
A former lawmaker in the British parliament, Coe said the money recognizes that “athletes are the stars of the show.”
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“There has been a consensus that Olympic revenues, at least for the more commercially successful and financially independent IFs, should be invested as a priority in matters of development and integrity,” said hometown-based ASOIF Olympic Lausanne, Switzerland.
The timing of Coe’s pledge also surprised many as it came a day after ASOIF’s annual meeting, held in Birmingham, England, and he is a member of its management council.
“In recent days, ASOIF membership has expressed several concerns about the World Athletics announcement,” the group said.
“One cannot and should not put a price on an Olympic gold medal and, in many cases, Olympic medal winners benefit indirectly from commercial endorsements,” ASOIF said. “This rules out the less privileged athletes further down the final rankings.”
ASOIF suggested that “all sports could not and should not repeat this move, even if they wanted to.” Paying a financial prize “goes against the principle of solidarity” and could take money away from the work of governing bodies which was their duty compared to the commercial promoters of sporting events.
The backlash from Olympic sports – whose leaders are among the 100 or so IOC members who elect the president – was probably anticipated by Coe, who has raised the issue of how to reward athletes in the often isolated world. IOC politics.
The financial promise was popular with US athletes in various sports preparing to compete in Paris, who can win US$37,500 from their team for gold medals, US$22,500 for silver and US$15,000 for bronze. The Paris Olympics start on 26 July
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
