The IOC (International Olympic Committee) executive “unanimously” disapproved this Tuesday (3) of the payment of financial bonuses by international federations to Olympic medalists, as World Athletics decided this year, in the name of “equity” between athletes .
“There was broad agreement on this issue, I would even say unanimity”, IOC spokesman Mark Adams explained to the press, specifying that the issue of bonuses was raised by “representatives of international federations and athletes”.
“The main argument is equity,” Adams said.
At the Paris Olympic Games, if “all medalists” had benefited from economic awards by their international federations, “around a thousand athletes and teams” would have been involved, while 65% of them come from the top 15 Olympic committees in the medal table, “well funded and privileged”.
“The executive committee considered that this went against the IOC’s mission and could easily turn the Olympic Games into an elitist event,” concluded the spokesperson.
Without having consulted anyone, the president of World Athletics, Sebastian Coe, announced in April his intention to pay US$50,000 (R$303,500) in prizes to the gold medalists of their respective sports at the Paris Games, raising criticism .
The president of the IOC, German Thomas Bach, then recalled the mission of “solidarity” that involves international federations. These “must treat all member federations and all their athletes on the same basis”, he told AFP at the end of April.
According to Bach, it is up to the national Olympic committees to encourage “the success of their athletes who participate in the Olympic Games”, which is why they “have been handing out prizes for decades”.
The discomfort with which Coe’s initiative was received could influence the campaign to succeed Bach to the IOC presidency, of which the head of World Athletics is one of the candidates. The election will take place between March 18 and 21, in Greece.
IOC will distribute R$41 billion for the last Olympic cycle
The IOC also announced this Tuesday that it will distribute US$6.8 billion (R$41.2 billion) for the 2021-2024 Olympic cycle, an increase of 12% compared to the previous cycle.
“Despite a difficult economic situation, marked by the Covid-19 pandemic that led to the Tokyo 2020 Games being postponed for a year, finally held behind closed doors, the organization will increase its subsidies by 45% compared to the 2009-2012 period “, according to Adams.
The IOC’s revenues, mainly obtained from television rights and its international sponsors program, are 90% distributed, with the remaining 10% dedicated to the operation of the Lausanne-based organization, according to its annual reports.
The Olympic institution finances the international federations present at the Summer and Winter Games, in addition to the 206 national Olympic committees. It also contributes 50% to the budget of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and participates in the organization of the Olympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games.
With a view to 2032, the IOC has already “secured commercial revenue of US$ 13.5 million (R$ 82 million)”, according to Mark Adams, of which US$ 7.3 million (R$ 44.3 million) until the Games of Los Angeles-2028 and US$6.2 million (R$37.6 million) for the following cycle, which will end with the Brisbane-2032 Games.
“This clearly demonstrates that the Olympic brand is stronger than ever and that the IOC’s commercial interest continues to grow,” the spokesperson said.
These numbers also mean that the next IOC president will begin his term in a prosperous financial position.
The winner of the election among seven candidates (a record in Olympic history) will succeed in June 2025 Thomas Bach, who has headed the IOC since 2013 and could not run again.
