President Christopher Samuda says the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) supports World Athletics’ decision to introduce money at the Olympic Games this summer.

World Athletics announced on Wednesday that gold medal winners in each of the 48 athletic events at the upcoming Olympic Games will receive US$50,000 (just under $8 million). Winning relay teams will also share a prize of US$50,000 among team members.

Samuda told the Jamaica Observer that he is pleased with World Athletics’ decision to reward athletes for their Olympic achievements. However, he cautioned against placing too much emphasis on monetary rewards during the event.

“Whereas I perfectly understand that reward sweetens labour and can be a deserving recognition of commitment to country and national ambassadorship, we must be careful that there is not an overreach which leads to a preoccupation with gain and materialism,” he said. “Capital inescapably defines the extent of progress and amateur sport has rapidly given way to professional sport which is denominated in hard currency.

“So the announcement by Lord Coe that World Athletics will remunerate Olympic gold medallists is an outgrowth of the current times and is a proverbial expression of one hand washes the other as sport exists and we enjoy it by virtue of the endeavours of athletes across its spectrum.”

Samuda mentioned the need for an accompanying educational campaign to remind athletes, both current and future, of the values and qualities that money cannot fulfil, values that Olympism embodies.

“As prize money continues to commercialise sport and itself becomes a marketing tool, there has to be, however, a concomitant educational campaign that reinforces in existing and emerging generations of sportsmen and women the truism that there are priceless values and attributes of humanity that money can’t satisfy and which Olympism embodies,” Samuda said.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe told reporters that the decision to award cash prizes reflected the efforts of track and field athletes, “which attract billions of eyeballs” to television coverage of the Olympics.

“I don’t believe this is remotely at variance with the concept that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) often talks about, which is recognising the efforts that our competitors make for the overall success of the Games,” Coe said.

The total prize fund of US$2.4 million (just over $372 million) will come from the IOC revenue share allocation that World Athletics receives every four years. It is expected that for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, prize money will also be extended to silver and bronze medallists.

First Vice-President Ian Forbes says the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association endorses this move as it will motivate and attract more people to the sport.

“It is a welcome move because we have been crying over the years for the IOC to offer prize money for the athletes participating at the Olympic Games,” he said. “The reality is that we are living in a changing world and the spirit can still prevail, but of course, that the athletes who worked tirelessly preparing themselves, they have to earn a living, so this is a tremendous initiative by World Athletics to offer prize money for track and field athletes who will be participating at the Olympic Games.

“It is a welcome move and I think it will help to motivate other athletes to participate and to pretty much join the sport and ensure that the sport is sustainable.”

Olympian Michael Frater says this should have been done long ago.

“I think this is great for the sport because finally athletes will be appreciated more by World Athletics and pushed towards achieving more,” he said. “Although the Olympics is the biggest platform, we do not receive any monetary compensation for performing at the highest level. This is a start, and they are looking to do even better for the Olympic Games in 2028.”

Frater, who is a former sprinter, represented Jamaica at the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Olympic Games and is a 4x100m relay gold medallist.