FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee is a privately funded organization, and raising money to support Team USA athletes is a top priority.
However, CEO Sarah Hirshland says they wish they could do more.
“I think anytime we can put resources into the hands of athletes, we should celebrate,” Hirshland said.
For the first time in Olympic history, winning gold will also come with cash.
“We need more resources to get into the hands of athletes so they have the ability to do both sustain themselves from a day-to-day lifestyle but also to invest in their training,” Hirshland said.
In April, World Athletics announced they would pay $50,000 to each gold medalist of the 48 athletics events in Paris.
“That is really important because there are way more unsponsored athletes than sponsored track and field athletes,” Chirs Bailey, 400m sprinter for Team USA said.
Bailey is one of the track and field athletes with an opportunity to win money.
“Me being on that end of unsponsored athletes, that is a big help in the financial category and it also gives incentive to go for more, and not necessarily give up,” Bailey said.
The announcement is a start to what hopes to be growing financial support to athletes competing and a growing trend for other Olympic sports in the future.
“We don’t get the eyes all the time and it’s only a couple weeks period every four years for an entire four, or an entire life’s work,” CJ Nickolas, taekwondo specialist for Team USA said.
Morelle McCane is competing for Team USA in boxing.
“Starting this journey, I worked first, second and third shifts sometimes,” McCane said.
Financially supporting her dream of being an Olympian is a side of things she says most don’t think about.
“Even though we already love the sport, just showing us the money it would be like, “Aww, ya’ll love us too!’”
Time will tell if financial rewards will continue to grow at the Olympic games and this is the first step in that direction.
World Athletes has already committed to extending the prize money to silver and bronze medalists for track and field at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.