Changes are coming to the Olympics in 2024, and track and field athletes stand to benefit.
Track and field is set to become the first sport to award prize money to medalists at the Paris Olympics this summer, setting aside a seven-figure prize pool that is poised to break tradition.
Track and field is one of the highlights of the Summer Olympics every four years, with the U.S. in particular producing emerging stars like Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson. Lyles and Richardson are among the standouts who could now walk away with some money in addition to a medal this summer.
Here’s what you need to know about the track and field prize money at the Paris Olympics.
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Olympic track and field prize money, explained
World Athletics announced Wednesday that $2.4 million in prize money will be set aside for track and field athletes at the Paris Olympics in 2024, a first in Olympic history.
The decision intends to “make sure some of the revenues generated by our athletes at the Olympic Games are directly returned to those who make the Games the global spectacle that it is,” World Athletics president Shane Coe said in a release.
The prize money will only go to gold medalists, so it’s all-or-nothing for…
