Jamaica Olympic Association President Christopher Samuda says there is nothing surprising about the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to provide direct funding to athletes who compete in the Olympic Games.

Samuda argued that the IOC’s decision to grant up to US$10,000 per athlete under the ‘Fit for the Future Olympian Grant’ is part of its policy of making athletes the central focus of its development plans. The IOC has set aside a fund of US$140 million for each Olympic Games, with approximately 14,000 Olympians per Games expected to be eligible.

In a release earlier this week, Samuda said, “It is an extension of the IOC’s policy framework and, indeed, Olympism of placing athletes at the centre of development strategies and, therefore, it is not surprising at all.”

The Olympic Games does not offer prize money to athletes taking part in the Summer and Winter games, and there were concerns when World Athletics decided to offer US$50,000 to gold medallists in the track and field programme at the Paris 2024 Games.

The decision to start paying athletes sees the IOC breaking with more than 130 years of tradition of not paying athletes. Those who qualify are expected to receive disbursements six months after competing, provided they have not failed a doping test or violated the Olympic Charter.

Samuda said, “Athlete welfare and development historically and currently gain support through Olympic Solidarity scholarships and other IOC activations in collaboration with national Olympic committees, but this commendable move will facilitate athletes, once they have satisfied integrity and other stipulated criteria, to access direct funding, which is an outgrowth of the IOC’s policy framework.”

The release said the JOA had been proactive and had started funding athletes before this initiative.

“The JOA introduced direct funding several years ago, not only to athletes but coaches as part of our business development model, so we welcome this decision. It is an investment strategy in the human capital of sport that is, for us, non-negotiable.

“The athlete is the cornerstone of the sustainability of the infrastructure of sport around which the commercial, business, cultural, and social architecture of sport is built. Without the tools of trade in sport, the field of play will be barren,” the release said.