For the vast majority of its modern history, the Olympic Games stood firmly against the concept of athletes being financially rewarded for their participation. Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, himself cautioned against the encroachment of “the spirit of gain and professionalism,” believing it posed a threat to the Games’ very essence. This principle of amateurism was enshrined in the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Olympic Charter for decades.
Until 1986, the Olympic Charter explicitly mandated that only amateur athletes could compete. This meant athletes were barred from earning money through sports. Perhaps the most famous example of this rigid amateurism is Jim Thorpe. After winning gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, Thorpe was stripped of his titles when it was revealed he had played semi-professional baseball for a small sum of money the year before. Similarly, Finnish distance running legend Paavo Nurmi, nicknamed the “Flying Finn,” was prevented from competing in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics due to alleged violations of amateur status related to receiving money for competitions.
However, the winds of change began to blow, and after a protracted struggle, the Olympic Charter underwent a significant revision in 1986. The amended charter opened the door for “all the world’s great male and female athletes to participate,” irrespective of their professional or amateur status. This change truly took hold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics with the arrival of the United States’ “Dream Team.” Featuring NBA superstars like Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and Patrick Ewing, their participation effectively shattered the long-standing notion of Olympic amateurism once and for all.
Today, the landscape of Olympic athletes is incredibly diverse, encompassing everyone from global icons and multi-millionaires such as Simone Biles and LeBron James to relatively unknown students still in high school or college. In a further evolution, and signaling a new era of athlete compensation, World Athletics recently announced a groundbreaking initiative: prize money for Olympic gold medalists in track and field events, starting at the Paris 2024 Games. This move by World Athletics marks a significant step, making them the first international federation to directly award prize money to Olympic medal winners.
Sebastian Coe, President of World Athletics, aptly summarized this transformative shift in his remarks, stating: “My view of the world has changed. It’s really important that, where possible, we create a sport that is financially viable for our competitors. This is the beginning of that.” While the IOC does not directly pay prize money, this initiative by World Athletics, coupled with potential medal bonuses from individual National Olympic Committees, signifies a growing recognition of the financial realities and sacrifices made by elite athletes in their pursuit of Olympic glory.
