EOC deems World Athletics' prize money for Olympic champions as discriminatory
European Olympic Committee president Spyros Capralos has deemed the World Athletics' decision to offer prize money to the Paris Olympics' gold-medalists as discrimantory.
Capralos, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee, said in a press conference in Romania on June 7:
"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. I think that every country through their National Olympic Committees and governments have set bonuses for athletes winning medals. I think just giving some money to the gold winner is discriminatory and does not follow the principles of solidarity."
The World Athletics (WA) and International Boxing Association (IBA) have announced prize money for their own medalists. The WA is reportedly going to pay $50,000 to its 48 Olympic champions. The WA, which is headed by Sebastian Coe, a member of the IOC, has also mentioned that it will not offer any prize money to its silver and bronze medalists at the Paris Olympics, but will do so in 2028, when the Summer Games take place at Los Angeles.
The International Boxing Association (IBA) however, have decided to offer prize money to all of the medalists, irrespective of the colour of the accolade. They will pay $100,000 to the gold medalists, $50,000 to silver medalists and $25,000 to bronze medialists.
As per reports, these decisions taken by both the WA and the IBA have angered other international federations, including the International Olympic Committee. To be specific, the IOC sees the move as direct interference in their event without prior consultation.
Spyros Capralos has also made it clear that there were no discussions held with neither WA or IBA regarding the announcements. He is set to attend the European athletics championships today, hinting at a possibility of discussions on the matter.
Regarding boxing, Capralos mentioned:
Regarding boxing there is no international boxing federation. With them (IBA) there have not been any discussions.
It is important to mention that the IBA is not organising the boxing tournament at the Paris Olympics, since it was stripped of recognition by the IOC last year due to a number of issues including governance and finance. The IOC has also demanded the establishment of a new global body and has warned the national federations that if they adhere to the IBA instead of the IOC-approved body, they won't be allowed to take part in the Los Angeles Olympics 2028.