Sir Steve Redgrave: Unfair to financially reward medal-winning athletes and not other Olympians

Sir Steve Redgrave – Sir Steve Redgrave: Unfair to financially reward medal-winning athletes and not other Olympians

Sir Steve Redgrave – Sir Steve Redgrave: Unfair to financially reward medal-winning athletes and not other Olympians

Sir Steve Redgrave says that it is unfair for athletics gold medallists to be paid prize money in Paris this summer while champions in other sports will receive nothing.

Track and field has become the first sport to reward Olympic winners financially by splitting a £1.9 million pot this summer so that each of the 48 gold medallists receive a guaranteed $50,000 (£39,800) on top of whatever bonus or commercial endorsements might bring.

Redgrave, who won Olympic gold in rowing at five consecutive Olympics between 1984 and 2000, however, suggested that the money would be better invested into poorer nations rather than Olympic athletes who might already be among the most financially secure.

Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics, stressed that it was not his experience that gold medallists were necessarily receiving significant additional sponsorship income and believes that governing bodies should share Olympic revenues with the actual stars of the show.

“The figurehead of the Olympic Games of all sports is athletics,” Redgrave told GB News. “But sports like mine, rowing, or some of the combat sports just won’t be able to afford to do the same thing.

“I would prefer that money be put into the development of the sport of maybe poorer nations. Athletics is so high profile that if you are good enough and lucky enough to win a gold medal or medals …you’re probably going to be able to earn endorsements, prize money, appearance money.

“You’re giving the money to the people that are probably more capable of earning the money than in any other sport within the Olympic process and that just doesn’t seem fair. That’s the whole thing about the Olympics, everyone’s on a level platform … and you’re making this into a two-tier process. This is to me the wrong direction.”

World Aquatics had seriously considered offering prize money before the Tokyo Olympics but instead raised the financial incentives at their own events and do not intend to change that policy for Paris.

Coe denied that the move was influenced in any way by the new Enhanced Games when athletes are being offered vast financial incentives to compete in events that will allow doping.

The swimmer James Magnussen has said that he will “juice to the gills” in an attempt to break the world 50m freestyle and has been offered $1 million (£796,410) to take part in the competition.

Brent Nowicki, the chief executive of World Aquatics, branded the concept a “a joke” and said that he would not want to see any competitor ever returning to mainstream sport.

“There is a whole anti–doping code that will tell us that but, in principle, if you want my honest opinion, if you are going to partake in that activity, you shouldn’t be involved in any sport ever again,” said Nowicki. “You cross that bridge, you don’t come back. I think it’s a farce. It takes us back years. It cuts against what we are trying to do. It’s going to give or potentially give reason to somebody who’s considering doping; who can say, ‘Look it’s safe now, James did it’.”

Nowicki also stressed that there was no question of holding the Olympic marathon swimming events in an indoor pool if the Seine river is unusable because of pollution. “That’s not an option for us – it would take away from the spirit of the sport,” he said. “Safety is the priority, full stop.”

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