World Athletics announce €2.2m prize pot for Paris track and field gold medals

Track and field gold medallists at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer will each receive $50,000 (€46,000) in prize money.

World Athletics announced the $2.4 million prize pot on Wednesday morning in a move which makes it the first international sport federation to award prize money at an Olympics.

The global governing body said the initiative also included a “firm commitment” to extend the prize money to silver and bronze medallists at the Los Angeles Games in four years’ time.

Relay medallists will split the $50,000 prize across the team, World Athletics said.

World Athletics introduces prize money for Olympic gold medallists at Paris 2024, and all medallists from LA28.

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) April 10, 2024

“The introduction of prize money for Olympic gold medallists is a pivotal moment for World Athletics and the sport of athletics as a whole, underscoring our commitment to empowering the athletes and recognising the critical role they play in the success of any Olympic Games,” World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said.

“This is the continuation of a journey we started back in 2015, which sees all the money World Athletics receives from the International Olympic Committee for the Olympic Games go directly back into our sport.”

Coe added: “We started with the Olympic dividend payments to our member federations, which saw us distribute an extra $5 million a year on top of existing grants aimed at athletics growth projects, and we are now in a position to also fund gold medal performances for athletes in Paris, with a commitment to reward all three medallists at the LA28 Olympic Games.

“While it is impossible to put a marketable value on winning an Olympic medal, or on the commitment and focus it takes