Olympic athletes to get cash grants from new $100m fund created by IOC

Olympians from both the summer and winter games can apply for $10,000 grants after competing.It’s not Olympic prize money officially, but it is a significant amount of cash going directly to athletes after a summer or winter games.The International Olympic Committee (IOC) pledged on Wednesday to pay up to $140m to athletes through the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games by creating a fund for $10,000 grants, which they can apply for after competing.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Tennis stars Sinner, Sabalenka and Gauff criticise Roland Garros prize moneylist 2 of 4French Open rejects prize money change despite tennis stars’ boycott threatlist 3 of 4French Open has ‘positive’ meeting with players over tennis disputelist 4 of 4Fifteen former NCAA players charged in US-China basketball rigging caseend of listThe IOC’s cash commitment came after growing calls were strongly resisted in recent years to pay prize money at the Olympics, and signalled another policy shift under its president, Kirsty Coventry.IOC member and former NBA star Pau Gasol announced the project, which will first be open to nearly 2,900 athletes who competed at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.About 11,000 athletes due to compete in 2028 in Los Angeles can also apply for grants totalling about $110m after those Olympics, if they meet integrity criteria such as not testing positive for doping.“This is a win for all of us,” said Gasol, who represents athletes on the 15-member IOC executive board, adding that it was “not prize money”.The money allocated by the IOC is not dependent on an athlete continuing their career.Coventry’s Olympic strategyThe cash promise was the signature issue of an IOC meeting setting a future strategy under Coventry exactly one year after she formally took office.Gasol said the IOC had heard a consistent message during its strategy review: “Athletes want more direct support throughout their Olympic journey and beyond.”The 42-year-old Coventry is a five-time Olympian and two-time swimming gold medallist for Zimbabwe. She was elected as the youngest president and the most recent former athlete in the IOC’s modern history.International Olympic Committee president (IOC) Kirsty Coventry delivers her speech at the opening of an IOC session, in Lausanne, on June 24, 2026 [AFP]Olympic prize moneyPaying prize money to Olympic medallists was a central policy for one of Coventry’s election opponents, World Athletics leader Sebastian Coe, who oversaw rewarding track and field champions at the 2024 Paris Olympics with $50,000.