Olympic Games: International Olympic Committee announces new grant for all future Olympians
The International Olympic Committee has said that any future Olympian can apply for a US$10,000 (£7,600) grant for each Games they compete in.
The ‘Future Olympic Grant’ has been established to support the sporting career or career transition of Olympic athletes.
A fund of $140 million (£106.5 million) will be allocated for each Olympic Games, with athletes competing in this year’s Winter Olympics being the first to apply.
Approximately 14,000 Olympic athletes are expected to qualify for the grant per Games.
Any athlete who commits an anti-doping violation or violates the IOC code of ethics, conditions of participation or the Olympic Charter will not be eligible.
The grant will be provided through existing National Olympic Committee (NOC) structures and will not be reduced by existing support programs provided by the IOC to NOCs, international sports federations, Olympic organizing committees or Olympic Solidarity.
Some national Olympic committees offer prize money, but the British Olympic Association is not one of them.
The new initiative is one of the first actions taken as part of the IOC’s ‘future-proofing’ framework to find new ways to support athletes.
Pau Gasol, Spain’s three-time basketball medalist and currently president of the IOC athletes’ commission, said: “While each athlete’s journey is different, each Olympian has made sacrifices to reach the Olympic stage; years of dedication, years of hard work, years of believing in a dream.
“This is not about prize money. This is about recognizing the journey and determination it takes to become an Olympian. And it’s about recognizing that every Olympian is part of our Olympic community and honoring those who came before us and paved the way, so current and future generations of Olympians can benefit.”
At the Paris 2024 Games, World Athletics became the first international federation to award Olympic prize money, with gold medalists receiving $50,000 (£38,000). It will also include silver and bronze medal winners at Los Angeles 2028.
IOC president Kirsty Coventry said: Opposes Olympic prize money bid,, external He thinks the organization needs to “find more ways to directly impact athletes and help them on their journey.”
He added on Wednesday: “This has been something that has been talked about for years and I’m extremely proud that we’ve now been able to do it.”
The grant will be awarded to all athletes competing in the Olympics with Aa accreditation and will not include those competing in the Youth Olympic Games.
The IOC aims to open the application process for 2026 Olympic athletes at the end of this year and to make the first payments in 2027.
