Why Olympic Athletes Should Be Paid

ABOUT THE EPISODE:

In this solo episode, host Winston Powell breaks down the controversy sparked by new IOC president Kirsty Coventry after she said she does not believe Olympic medalists should receive direct prize money from the IOC. As a GB athlete himself, Winston walks through what Coventry actually said, the strongest arguments on her side, and why he firmly believes Olympic athletes deserve a share of the value they generate, while still acknowledging the case for protecting wider athlete development funding.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Kirsty Coventry sparked major backlash by saying Olympic medals should not come with IOC prize money, arguing the IOC's role is to fund athlete development and life after sport for a much larger pool of athletes.

The strongest case for her position is that prize money concentrates funding among the very few who medal, while the wider pathway needs ongoing investment to keep producing athletes in the first place.

That funding inequality argument already breaks down at the governing body level. British Gymnastics gets more UK Sport and National Lottery funding when its athletes succeed at the Olympics, so success already breeds success.

The Olympics simply does not exist without the athletes. People do not watch IOC committee meetings, they watch Simone Biles, Noah Lyles, and Leon Marchand.

The IOC generated 7.7 billion dollars last cycle, with around 65 million paid out across 24 IOC directors, yet athletes still receive no direct prize money from the Games themselves.

Toyota pulling out of an 835 million dollar partnership and openly stating the IOC does not prioritise athletes raises serious questions about where the money is actually going.

Other major sports pay their athletes well. The NBA shares roughly 50 percent of revenue with players, while paying every Olympic athlete plus medal bonuses would barely dent IOC revenue at around 1 to 3 percent.

The fairest model is not one or the other but both, real grassroots and athlete development funding alongside a meaningful revenue share for the people actually creating the spectacle.

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