US athletes praise Paris Games prize money plan

World Athletics’ (WA) plan to offer prize money to Olympic gold medallists is a much needed step in the right direction, said American track and field athletes, with the high costs of training and competition weighing on competitors.

WA president Sebastian Coe bucked 128 years of tradition when he said last week that the athletics governing body would pay gold medal winners in Paris US$50,000 (RM239,096), a move that athletes were quick to endorse.

“You can lose money in track and field as soon as you step out the door,” Tara Davis-woodhall, the indoor world champion in long jump, told reporters this week at the Team USA Media Summit in New York.

Davis-woodhall said even travelling to competitions presents a major financial burden for many athletes.

“If I don’t have a sponsorship, who’s going to pay for this? I’m going to go in debt like 100%,” said Davis-woodhall, who won a silver medal at the 2023 world championships in Budapest. “It’s not a sustainable thing to do at all.”

Under the WA plan, a Us$2.4mil (Rm11.47mil) prize pot will be split between the 48 athletics gold medallists at the Paris Games, which start on July 26.

Silver and bronze medal winners will also receive prize funds beginning at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

“It’s about time,” said Olympic 200m silver medallist Kenny Bednarek.

“You have athletes that work their butt off, blood, sweat and tears every single day, every single year. And, you know, some compensation is needed for them.”

Their remarks echoed the endorsement of United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) CEO Sarah Hirshland, who applauded the plan.

“Any time we can put resources in the hands of athletes, we should all celebrate,” Hirshland told reporters in New York on Monday.

“We need more resources to get into the hands of athletes, so that they have both the ability to sustain themselves from a just day-to-day lifestyle perspective, but then also (to) continue to invest in their training.”