Olympic athletes to get cash grants from new $100m fund created by IOC

LAUSANNE, Switzerland: It’s not Olympic prize money officially, but it is a significant amount of cash going directly to athletes after a Summer or Winter Games.
The International Olympic Committee pledged Wednesday to pay more than $100 million to athletes through 2028 by creating a fund for $10,000 grants for which they can apply after competing.
The IOC’s cash commitment came after growing calls were strongly resisted in recent years to pay prize money at the Olympic Games.
Instead, IOC member and former NBA star Pau Gasol announced the project which will first be open to nearly 2,900 athletes who competed at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.
Around 11,000 athletes due to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games also can apply for grants totaling about $110 million after those Olympics, if they meet eligibility criteria such as not testing positive for doping.
“This is a win for all of us,” said Gasol, who represents athletes on the 15-member IOC executive board, adding that it was “not prize money.”

Coventry’s Olympic strategy

The cash promise was the signature issue of an IOC meeting setting a future strategy under its president Kirsty Coventry exactly one year after she formally took office.
Gasol said the IOC had heard a consistent message during its strategy review: “Athletes want more direct support throughout their Olympic journey and beyond.”
The 42-year-old Coventry is a five-time Olympian and two-time swimming gold medalist for Zimbabwe. She was elected as the youngest president, and most recent former athlete, in the IOC’s modern history.

Olympic prize money

Paying prize money to Olympic medalists was a central policy for one of Coventry’s election opponents, World Athletics leader Sebastian