The IOC will pay Olympic athletes for the first time. Is it enough?

June 25, 2026 — 3:30pm

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The International Olympic Committee’s announcement of a $US10,000 ($14,500) payment to every athlete who competes at an Olympic Games is a significant development, marking a departure from more than a century of history in which participation was considered reward enough.

But Australian athletes were not exactly dancing in the streets after details of the ‘Fit for the Future Olympian Grant’ were unveiled at an IOC meeting in Switzerland were revealed on Thursday.

“$6.80 per day for a four-year cycle. And that’s pre-tax,” one prominent Olympic gold medallist, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told this masthead. “But it’s a start, which is a win for the next generation.”

Another Olympic champion said: “It’s a big step forward from not believing athletes should get paid. But in this modern era, there is still a long way to go.”

Still, something is better than nothing, as Australia’s most decorated Olympian, Emma McKeon, acknowledged on social media on Thursday.

“Moving in the right direction,” McKeon wrote, accompanied by a clapping emoji.

IOC president Kirsty Coventry made the announcement after a month of fierce backlash to her  comments that she did not “believe in paying athletes” – remarks she later said were in reference to prizemoney, rather than overall athlete support.

Speaking at the IOC extraordinary session in Lausanne on Wednesday, Coventry said the financial sweetener for athletes – who since the inaugural modern Olympics in Athens........

© The Age