It was emphasized that it was common practice among many National Olympic Committees (NOCs), governments, private organizations, and sponsors to offer financial rewards based on athletes' performance. IOC President Thomas Bach reported that he received financial rewards after he and his teammates became Olympic champions in fencing at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
During the discussion, the IOC Executive Board highlighted the different roles of the Olympic Movement's stakeholders. To support athletes, the IOC distributes 90% of its revenues to sport and athlete development worldwide, which equates to $4.2 million per day. NOCs and International Sports Federations (IFs) are also the main recipients of this funding through the Olympic Solidarity program. In addition, they share in the commercial success of the Olympic Games. Find out more here.
NOCs and IFs have different roles to play in ensuring that support for athletes is effective and transparent.
The role of the NOCs is to develop athletes, provide them with the best training and playing conditions, and support them in their professional education and daily life. Finally, it is the prerogative of the NOCs to select their national athletes who qualify for the Olympic Games, where they participate as members of their respective NOC's Olympic team. The majority of NOCs reward team members for their achievements in the Olympic Games.
The role of the IFs is different: athletes do not participate as competitors but as part of their national Olympic teams. The role of the IFs is to develop their sport universally, to give as many people as possible access to it and, ultimately, to close the gap between athletes from more and less advantaged countries. In this way, the IFs have to create more equal conditions for all athletes around the world in their respective sports.
These clear commitments were recently reaffirmed by the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), the Winter Olympic Federations (WOF) and the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) and reported to the IOC Executive Board by the Representative of the Summer Olympic International Federations, Nenad Lalovic, the Representative of the Winter Olympic Federations, Ivo Ferriani and the President of ANOC, Robin Mitchell.
The IOC Executive Board agreed that the various organisations that make up the Olympic Movement should continue to share responsibilities efficiently according to their respective roles.
Emma Terho, Chair of the IOC Athletes' Commission, said: “The different actors in the Olympic Movement have their role to play in helping athletes develop and realise their dreams. Naturally, we advocate for greater support for athletes, which is something the IOC and our Commission have been focusing on. Rewarding athletes financially for their Olympic achievements is the norm for many National Olympic Committees and governments, while International Federations help to develop sport on a global scale and close the development gap between the haves and have-nots. Each role is important for athletes, and for sport as a whole, because without this commitment the gap between athletes around the world would be much wider than it is today.”
