IN SHORT:
- In Latvia, the state finances the preparation of Olympians and pays bonuses for achievements
- The International Olympic Committee allocates funds to international sports federations
- Athletics and boxing federations will pay bonuses to the winners of the Paris Olympics
- In Norway, half of the Olympians live below the poverty line, athletes are supported by society with donations
- As an ethically dubious alternative, the “Advanced Games” without doping control presents itself
Also, athletes are prohibited from showing their individual sponsors, including in the content of social networks created by them. Settlements with athletes for Olympic achievements are left to the member states. According to the compilation of the influential business magazine “Forbes”, Latvia had promised the sixth largest bonuses for Olympic gold medals in the previous Winter Olympic Games in 2022 – more than 140 thousand euros.
Of the $7.6 billion in revenue, only $590 million went to the National Olympic Committees during the Olympic cycle, leaving most of the expenses on the taxpayers of each member state. For example, in the case of Latvia, the Olympic unit intended for training elite athletes is fully financed by the state.
Likewise, the IOC directs several hundred million euros to international sports federations.
For many sports, Olympic funding is a matter of survival, as the World Cup competitions, as well as the world and European championships, do not generate enough public interest to be self-sustaining from ticket, broadcast rights and advertising revenue.
If these sports die out, it will no longer be possible to complete the program of the Olympic Games and earn billions, which is why the IOC gives the international federations.
However, the first serious cracks have appeared in this delicate business model, honed over decades. The North American student sports organization NCAA also operated on a similar principle for more than 100 years. Athletes generated profits in the billions, but were formally considered amateurs, who should not be paid. After years of objections from athletes, the current arrangement has been canceled and from next year the university will be allowed to pay athletes. Such a turning point has also made the business model of the Olympic Games pay more attention.
The international federations of two sports – athletics and boxing – have already announced that they will reward the Olympic laureates in Paris from their own funds,
drawing criticism from both the IOC and other sports federations. The International Boxing Association (IBA) is not involved in the Olympic boxing events, as the IOC revoked its recognition last year.
For years, track and field athletes have been the loudest protesters against the unfair conditions of participation in the Olympic Games. One of the most visible activists was the American sprinter Sanya Richards-Ross, who thus advocated for teammates in less popular athletics disciplines. For Olympic gold, the USA pays its athletes three times less than in Latvia – 37,500 dollars.
Norwegian athletes also have similar problems.
According to the estimates of the Norwegian Olympic Committee, about half of Norwegian Olympians live below the country’s poverty line on a daily basis, and the Norwegian government does not pay bonuses to athletes for Olympic medals.
In the run-up to Paris, a special donation phone line was introduced, where you can donate €8.61 to Norway’s neediest athletes in certain sports with a single text message.
New alternatives are starting to appear for athletes – in recent months, the “Improved Games” project has announced itself more and more loudly. There will be no doping tests for athletes and generous prize money will be paid. The idea came from an Australian businessman who was prompted to take such a step by a study conducted in 2011 with the blessing of the World Anti-Doping Agency. In anonymous interviews, 44% of elite level athletes admitted that they had used banned substances in the last year, but only an insignificant percentage was caught.
The first “Improved Games” are planned for 2025. Athletes will compete in athletics, swimming, weightlifting, gymnastics and martial arts. Participation has already been confirmed by the Olympic medalist in swimming, James Magnussen, who explained in interviews that he had not used steroids before, but will now actively start doing so, and such a format will finally ensure fair competition, which is missing in the Olympic Games.
The idea of ”advanced games” has been sharply criticized by leading sports organizations, calling it irresponsible and dangerous,
but the organizers of the games themselves object that the athletes will be tested to find out whether they are healthy, not whether the body is clean of certain substances.
Apart from the ethical considerations, the very fact that such an alternative proposal has arisen right now is another confirmation that the organizers of the Olympic Games will face more and more new challenges in the future.
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2024-07-01 13:59:53
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