Athletes say they should be paid for the medals they win

Published on Friday 14 August 2009 22:04

BRITAIN'S Olympic and Paralympic stars think they should get money for the medals they win and also that 2012 organisers need to find creative ways to fill seats at the London Games.

These were some of the views of British athletes who competed in Beijing. Their opinions were gathered by questionnaire and included in reports produced by the British Athletes Commission (BAC), which represents top-class athletes.

The government, UK Sport and the British Olympic Association (BOA) are being urged to coordinate a central pot from various bodies, including sponsors to reward high performance for all athletes, regardless of their sport.

Among the Olympians, 87 per cent felt athletes should be paid for any medals they win.

This reward should be funded by the government, according to 52 per cent of the Olympians, while 17 per cent said sponsors should foot the bill, 15 per cent said the Lottery should pay while 8 per cent thought sport national governing bodies or the BOA should cover it.

One noted: "More incentives – it hurts when you hear of other nations getting better bonuses."

Britain is one of the few top-ten medal nations at the Olympics without such a scheme. Some sports have specific sponsors who provide money for medals.

Among the Paralympians, 73 per cent thought athletes should be paid for winning medals.

However, BAC chief executive Pete Gardner said: "No-one believes that money for medals will produce more champions. It is not why the athletes do their sport.

"In the current climate, it is also probably not a realistic option because there is not enough money to act as a top-up."