Track and field gold medallists at Paris 2024 will each get nearly £40,000 in prize money as athletics becomes the first sport to offer financial rewards at the Olympics

Athletics has broken a 128-year Olympic tradition by becoming the first sport to offer prize money to gold medallists.

In a ‘landmark decision’ announced by World Athletics president Lord Coe on Wednesday, each athlete who wins an individual track and field event in Paris will receive $50,000 (£39,400). Silver and bronze medallists will not be financially rewarded this summer, but they will be at the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

Since the modern Games were founded as an amateur event in 1896, athletes have never received prize money from a sport’s governing body.

Coe, though, insists World Athletics’ radical move does not go against the spirit of the Olympics. ‘I don’t believe this is at variance with any deeply held philosophical commitment to the Olympic movement,’ said the 67-year-old, who won 1500metres gold for Great Britain in 1980 and 1984.

‘I think this fits very much with a contemporary template that we should do everything we can to recognise the performance and the primacy of athletes.

‘The world has changed. It is a completely different planet from when I was competing, so it’s really important that where possible we create a sport that is financially viable for our competitors. This is the beginning of that.

‘If I thought athletes were only competing because there was a financial pot at the end of the day, then I might take a very different view - but they are not.’

The $50,000 offer is for all 48 athletics events in Paris. In relay races, the money will be shared between the winning team members. Athletes will only be paid once they have cleared the usual anti-doping procedures.

The total $2.4m (£1.9m) prize pot will come from World Athletics’ share of the IOC’s broadcast revenue, which they are entitled to spend how they choose.

However, Coe admits he did not personally consult the IOC before making his controversial announcement, which could pave the way for other sports to follow suit.

Asked how he expected the IOC to react, Coe said: ‘I am hoping they would welcome it. They have been very clear that where possible they have redirected their own revenues back into Olympic sport and particularly the athletes. We are pretty much following the same principle.

‘Other federations will make their own judgement about priorities. We just make decisions that we think are in the best interest of our sport.

‘The introduction of prize money for Olympic gold medallists is a pivotal moment, underscoring our commitment to empowering the athletes and recognising the critical role they play in the success of any Olympics.

‘While it is impossible to put a marketable value on winning an Olympic medal, I think it is important we start somewhere and make sure some of the revenues generated by our athletes at the Olympics are directly returned to those who make the Games the global spectacle that it is.’

An IOC spokesperson said: ‘The IOC redistributes 90 per cent of all its income, in particular to the National Olympic Committees and International Federations.

‘This means that, every day, the equivalent of $4.2m goes to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world. It is up to each IF and NOC to determine how to best serve their athletes and the global development of their sport.’

While World Athletics will be the first sport’s body to directly offer prize money at a Games, around 60 per cent of countries already reward their medallists, including the USA, who paid their champions £29,500 at Tokyo 2020. Many athletes also receive bonuses from sponsors if they win medals.

World Athletics’ move follows Britain’s world indoor and outdoor champion Josh Kerr slammed the prize money on offer at major events as ‘crazy’. It also comes after USA legend Michael Johnson announced plans to launch a big-money breakaway track league next year.

But while Coe has promised to increase the prize pot further for LA28, he insists this is not a response to Johnson’s series or the Enhanced Games, which is offering major financial rewards for athletes to take drugs to try and break world records.

‘As we grow the sport in the next few years, I want the athletes to benefit even more from that,’ said Coe. ‘You can assume that we will do what we possibly can to increase that price pot.’

Coe also says he would like to see the Paralympians rewarded in the future, although his governing body is not responsible for para-athletics.