Olympic prize money ‘unfair’, favours the elite, says IOC

Hamish Kerr celebrates winning gold - and $85,000 - at the Paris Olympics. Photo / Photosport

Offering prize money at the Olympic Games was unfair and was shown at the Paris Games to favour a small number of elite athletes to the detriment of others, the International Olympic Committee said today.

In a taboo-busting move that sparked hugely mixed reactions, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe announced prize money of US$50,000 ($85,000) for every track and field winner at the Paris Olympics.

Kiwi Hamish Kerr was among the athletes to earn the prize money with his gold medal effort in the men’s high jump.

No other sports federation pays prize money at the Olympics.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams said that the IOC’s executive board had discussed the topic of prize money distribution, raised by International Federations and athletes' representatives, on the first day of a meeting in Lausanne.

“There was a large amount of agreement on the topic, I might even say, unanimity,” Adams said.

“It was a question ... of principle, efficiency and distribution within the Olympic movement.

“The biggest argument is one of fairness.”

Adams' comments echo those made by IOC president Thomas Bach to AFP in April and come as seven candidates – including Coe – hone their campaigns to succeed the German as head of the Olympic body.

At the Paris Games, Adams said, “If all the medallists, athletes and teams from all the sports were rewarded, it’d be about 1000 athletes and teams who would benefit”.

“They mostly come from what you might call the well-funded and privileged National Olympic Committees. Sixty five % of the individual medallists and teams winning medals are from 15 NOCs who were on top of the medal tally.

“It would only increase the existing inequalities even further ... it was felt by the executive board that this goes against the mission of the International Olympic Committee, and it could very easily downgrade the Olympic Games to an elitist event.

“This was a principle supported by the participants, but particularly by the representatives of the IFs and as I said, by the athlete representatives, it’s a matter of solidarity.”

Adams said that studies of the Paris Games showed that prize money “would really overwhelmingly benefit a very, very small group of elite athletes to the detriment of others”.

NOCs rather than international federations were free to motivate their athletes with prize money, he said, citing IOC president Bach’s own experience with the German NOC after winning team foil fencing gold at the 1976 Montreal Games.