Ecuador’s Brian Pintado, China’s Yang Jiayu are the first two athletes to earn World Athletics’ prize money for Olympic champions after they won the men’s and women’s 20-kilometer race walk respectively on Thursday. They will receive US$50,000 each as a reward for securing gold and World Athletics has insisted that it made the “right decision” in April to become the first international federation to award prize money at an Olympic Games.
World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon said he was not surprised by the criticisms that trailed their “landmark decision”, with many stressing that it goes against the Olympic spirit.
PRIZE MONEY
“A key part of our strategy for the last few years is to make sure that we reward our athletes. They are the stars of the show and as our income grows they deserve to show a part of that. If you look at our existing world championships beyond the Olympic Games, we’re spending $24 million in prize money and we just felt that the athletes should be rewarded in the Olympics in the same way that they are awarded in the world championships… It’s the right thing to do.”
DEVELOPMENT
He added: “I know there has been some concerns that perhaps we were taking money away from development to put into prize money. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Over a four year period, World Athletics have already spent over $50 million in development. Our intention is to increase that money going forward. So we see that both can coexist perfectly in terms of making sure that athletics is a vibrant way for our leading athletes to make a living because they put on an incredible show, but at the same time, we’re very focused on working with our 200+ member federations around the world to make sure that athletics is developed.”
WELFARE
The World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said: “I’m really surprised that people don’t see the correlation between athletes of high profile that are comfortable and whose welfare is being looked after, and their ability to perform and raise the profile of the sport and add to the broadcast revenues and the sponsorships that come in. It’s not complicated to recognise that the athletes need to be reflected in that proceeds of growth. I find nothing particularly strange about it.”
The total prize pot of US$2.4 million is from the International Olympic Committee’s revenue share allocation, which the World Athletics receives every four years. Each individual Olympic champion will receive US$50,000 while relay teams will share the same amount. If there is a shared gold medal, as was the case at Tokyo 2021 with Mutaz Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi in the men’s high jump, Ridgeon said the athletes would share the prize money as well. However, he would not mind a repeat of the historic scenario in Paris. “Actually one of the highlights I’m looking forward to is the men’s high jump. The Tamberi/Barshim rematch. World Athletics plans to extend bonuses to the silver and bronze medallists at the next Olympics in Los Angeles.
In his final term as World Athletics President, having been re-elected last year in Budapest, Coe, whose manifesto in 2014 was “Growing Athletics in a New Age” said “there is a lot more he wants to achieve for athletics… and it’s difficult to look beyond that.” This was in response to a question about if he was looking to become IOC President.
SHOE TECHNOLOGY
For Coe, it is important to “drive the innovation agenda”, hence he is not concerned about the impact of shoe technology on the sport that has seen athletes going faster, higher, and farther. “It’s the evolution of technology and for the very first time we now have an evaluation team at World Athletics that is working alongside the shoe companies and we work very well together. We talk to the athletes, we talk to the coaches and we created regulations – they’re not perfect, but I think that is the way technology works. As an international federation, or any organization in a civilization I don’t think it’s best to try to strangle innovation and technology and the shoe companies are a very important part of our landscape. I think there’s a balance to be struck and we will continue to monitor that.”
GRAND SLAM TRACK
Legendary sprinter Michael Johnson recently launched a new global league called Grand Slam Track. Coe doesn’t see it as a rival to the Diamond League run by World Athletics.
“I don’t see fresh investment as being anything other than the collaboration not rival. I think we should be comforted by the fact that in the last few years the ecosystem of athletics has suddenly become an attractive proposition for external investments and that’s a good thing. Any additional event, which we will of course welcome has to have a quality threshold, has to work for the athletes, has to work for the broadcasters. And this is a complicated landscape… If people are going to come into this landscape I welcome them. It’s a good sign that the sport is heading in the right trajectory.”
However field events seem to be at a disadvantage as most investments are geared towards track events. “I don’t think it’s my role to control the market or even try to skew it in one particular direction. That’s really a matter for those that are putting the investments in. What I can tell you is our commitment in World Athletics, to the development of a sport that is track and field. And its development at the same speed is undeniable. And again, our innovation teams are spending as much time trying to figure out how we can work alongside those disciplines in the field to make sure that they have as much excitement and traction as our track events,” Coe explained.
CROSS COUNTRY IN WINTER OLYMPICS
Coe confirmed that there are promising talks to include cross-country running in the Winter Olympics. Cross-country running, which was last in the Olympics in 1924 Summer Games in Paris, looks set to join forces with cyclo-cross with both disciplines sharing the same circuit at the Winter Games.
“There is the potential around the co-creation of a two-sport option with cyclo-cross. We’ve had good discussions but there is a lot of detail still to be sorted,” Coe said.
TEAMING UP WOTH CYCLO-CROSS
He has been talking to David Lappartient, the president of the world governing body for cycling (UCI), about teaming up with cyclo-cross.
“I’ve always wanted to see cross country back. It’s obviously more at home in the winter. It’s historically and traditionally a winter sport. Importantly for me it gives Africa an opportunity to have a serious part of the Winter Games. There’s a lot of goodwill. I’ve already had sensitive discussions with the US Olympic Committee and the Organising Committee in Salt Lake City.”
Coe added. “David is very key. Let’s see where we get to.” UCI chief Lappartient is also head of the French national Olympic committee behind the successful Alps bid.
STATISTICS The race walk events today ushered in what is expected to be 11 days of exciting athletics action at the Paris 2024 Olympics. At Tokyo 2020, three world records were set in the sport – Karsten Warholm in the men’s 400m hurdles; Sydney McClaughin-Levrone in the women’s 400m hurdles; and Yulimar Rojas in the women’s triple jump. – and it is expected that Paris 2024 would witness more.
In Paris, Eliud Kipchoge could become the first man to win athletics medals at five Olympic Games. If the Kenyan wins his third consecutive marathon gold medal he would join Usain Bolt as the only Olympians to win three consecutive gold medals in an individual running event.
Meanwhile hammer thrower Anita Wlodarczyk from Poland, the only woman to win individual Olympic gold medals in athletics at three consecutive Games is going for her fourth consecutive gold medal at Paris 2024. If she achieves this, she will match the feats of Al Oerter in the men’s discus throw from 1956-68 and Carl Lewis in the men’s long jump from 1984-1996.
Credit: AIPS Media
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