The European Olympic Committees (EOC) president Spyros Capralos has criticized World Athletics’ decision to offer prize money to gold medallists at the upcoming Paris Olympics, calling it discriminatory and contrary to Olympic values.
World Athletics (WA) has announced a $50,000 prize for each of its 48 Olympic champions in Paris, while the International Boxing Association (IBA) will provide $100,000 for gold, $50,000 for silver, and $25,000 for bronze medallists. However, WA will not extend monetary rewards to silver or bronze medallists at these Games, promising to do so only at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
These announcements have provoked discontent among other international federations and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which views the move as an intrusion into their event without prior consultation.
“We believe in the Olympic Games the athletes go there to compete for the values of the Olympic Games and their last preoccupation is to get money and bonuses,” Capralos stated during a press conference in Romania. He emphasized that offering money exclusively to gold winners is discriminatory and undermines the principles of solidarity.
Capralos noted that most countries already have their own reward systems for medallists through National Olympic Committees and government bonuses. He also revealed that there had been no prior discussions with WA or IBA regarding these decisions. Capralos plans to attend the European athletics championships in Rome for potential discussions but mentioned no contact with the IBA.
The IOC stripped the IBA of its recognition last year due to governance and financial issues, and it is not organizing the boxing tournament at the Paris Olympics. The IOC has urged the creation of a new global boxing body, warning that athletes from federations adhering to the IBA might be excluded from the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
A total of 10,500 athletes are expected to compete in 32 sports at the Paris Olympics, running from July 26 to August 11.
