IOC to Provide $10,000 to All Olympic Athletes

Under long-standing pressure to introduce a prize money system, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to provide $10,000—approximately 15 million won—in financial support to every athlete participating in the Olympic Games, AFP reported.

During its annual session held in Lausanne, Switzerland, on the 24th (local time), the IOC adopted the program and announced on its website that "every athlete participating in the Olympic Games is eligible for a $10,000 'Olympic Solidarity' grant."

The grant will be provided to all participating athletes regardless of their home country or performance.

The total scale of the support is estimated at $140 million per Olympic Games, and payments are scheduled to be made to athletes competing in the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics this year, once the application process is established.

With this decision, athletes from the NBA and NHL, as well as world-renowned tennis stars, will be eligible to receive the grant after participating in the Olympics and submitting an application.

Athletes participating in the Paralympic Games are excluded from this support program.

AFP reported that the IOC made this decision despite having been passive about paying prize money, even though it abolished amateur eligibility requirements for athletes long ago.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry has consistently expressed opposition to the introduction of Olympic athlete grants.

Roland Schoeman, a former South African swimmer, criticized the IOC's stance, emphasizing, "The IOC generates billions. That value comes from the athletes. It is time to demand an explanation for this."

World Athletics had already introduced a prize money system starting with the 2024 Paris Olympics, awarding $50,000 to gold medalists.

At the time of the announcement of the prize money system, World Athletics President Sebastian Coe explained, "It is a completely different world from when I was an athlete," adding, "It is important that the sports world recognizes these changes in the environment."

Meanwhile, the IOC also adopted changes to its charter on this day that emphasize political neutrality.

Some have pointed out that this could be paving the way for Russia's return to the Olympics.

(Photo: Capture from IOC website, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.