Olympic athletes will now be able to receive money for their participation in the Games, one of several reforms approved by IOC members at their session in Switzerland on Wednesday.
The changes, which include modifying the bidding process to host the Games, come as some of the most extensive steps under President Kirsty Coventry as she marks her first year in office.
Athletes commission chair Pau Gasol announced at the session that every Olympic athlete would be eligible for a $10,000 “Fit for the Future Grant.” The IOC will fund $140M per Olympiad, offering its first grants to athletes who competed in the Milan Cortina Games earlier this year.
The IOC expects around 14,000 athletes to be eligible per quadrennium, and they can receive the grant for each edition of the Games they compete in.
Coventry said the changes have long been in the works, but they came as she faced widespread criticism for last month telling New Zealand outlet, Sport Nation, that she didn’t believe in paying athletes.
“I’ve always said we need to find direct ways to support athletes. That has never changed,” Coventry said. “It was a little frustrating, obviously the backlash as you said from New Zealand because also internally I already knew about this and it was like, ‘Oh, the timing is horrible, but it is what it is, right?’ I think that at the end of the day we ask ourselves, is this the right thing to do? This is the right thing to do. We found a way to directly support all Olympians, and that is a priority.”
The change was the most significant of the session but far from the only one as Coventry rolls out her “Fit for the Future” reforms. The IOC has been engaged in this process since she took office a year ago, assembling nine commissions to review everything from which sports are in the Olympic program to the organization’s revenue model.
Among the other reforms adopted Wednesday:
- Approving an evaluation process that will assess disciplines rather than sports. For example, swimming and artistic swimming are two disciplines that are part of aquatics. The review framework to determine which sports remain the Olympic program will be based on global appeal, cost and operational complexity and athlete representation. The changes cap the number of sports a host could propose, with four for the Summer Games and two for the Winter Games. The hosts would bear the costs of any added to their programs. This will go into effect for the 2032 Games in Brisbane, with some flexibility given commitments organizers there have made to venues.
- Waiting to select a host for 2036 until 2029, returning the seven-year window that had been the standard for years until then-President Thomas Bach modified the process in 2019. The changes add a phase to the bidding process, allowing potential hosts to be short listed for a “strategic dialogue” phase that allows them and the IOC to better assess the viability of their bids. Potential hosts for 2036 - which include India, Qatar and Germany - would enter that early next year.
- Amending the Olympic charter to emphasize political neutrality, something Coventry and the IOC have framed as a way to help the movement avoid political pressures. She sidestepped the idea that it could allow Russia, which has been banned since its invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, to return the fold.
Additional changes will come at a later day, with the IOC setting specific objectives to change five key areas by 2032: athlete support, organization of the Olympic Games, elevating the Olympic movement, furthering Olympic impact and revenue generation.
Among its commitments in setting the course for its revenues, the IOC aimed to elevate the Olympic brand, increase engagement and review the commercial relationship between the IOC, organizing committees, national Olympic committees and TOP sponsors.
