Olympics to offer all games competitors $10,000 grants

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AFP)—The International Olympic Committee, which has been under growing pressure to introduce prize money to the Olympics, on Wednesday announced it was setting up a grant for every athlete who takes part in the Games.

“Every athlete at the Olympic Games will be eligible for a new $10,000 (8,800 euros) ‘Fit for the Future Olympian Grant’,” said the IOC on its website, adding that the total fund would be worth $140mn for each four-year Olympic cycle.

“All Olympians, no matter where they’re from doesn’t matter where they finish,” would be entitled to the grant, said the chair of the Athletes’ Commission Pau Gasol, during a press conference at the IOC Session in Lausanne.