FILIPINO Olympians will soon get an unexpected cash bonanza after the International Olympic Committee approved a cash grant of $10,000 (P610,00 in local currency) to all athletes who will compete in the Winter and Summer Games.
Any Filipino who is named to the LA Olympics is, thus, eligible to get the cash grant which will come from a $140 million per four-year cycle allotted by the IOC.
Athletes, who have no doping or IOC rules violation, can apply within six months of the competition, said IOC President Kirsty Coventry.
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The grant takes effect immediately with Olympians at the 2026 Milano Cortina Games last February the first to benefit from the new fund, followed by athletes at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Coventry announced the initiative at the organization's annual strategy meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland on Wednesday, June 24, one year after she took office.
"We found a way to directly support all Olympians, and that is a priority," Coventry said. "I think part of what we do in this movement is we pave the way forward for those that are coming behind us."
According to former NBA star Pau Gasol, chair of the IOC Athletes' Commission, athletes can apply for the grant through the IOC's existing online business platform called Athlete365.
"We're showing the athletes that we are thinking of them and that we're going above and beyond to make sure that they're receiving as much value as we can give them," Gasol said in a press conference. "They are the heart of our movement."
The IOC does not award prize money at the Olympics, though some countries choose to pay athletes for medal wins. Coventry said she'd been working on this initiative since she assumed the presidency.
The money can be used by Olympians to continue their sports careers or transition to another career. If an athlete chooses not to apply for the grant, the IOC said, that money will remain in the fund to be available for other Olympians.
The grant will be available even to athletes in sports such as men's soccer and basketball who make lucrative salaries from their careers, Gasol said.
The money, however, is not available for Paralympics athletes.
The IOC's Olympic Solidarity program, which already provides scholarships to athletes from less wealthy countries, will manage distribution of the grants. Coventry said the IOC arrived at the $10,000 figure by doubling the $5,000 scholarship typically allotted to athletes for each Olympic qualification event.
“This is not prize money. This is about recognizing the journey and the commitment it takes to become an Olympian,” Gasol said Wednesday. “And it is about recognizing that every Olympian is part of our Olympic community, and honoring those who have come before us and paved the way, so that current and future generations of Olympians can benefit.”
The money will come from the IOC, which will distribute it through national federations.
Athletes have spoken for years about the challenges of funding an Olympic run, particularly in lower-profile sports or for low-income countries. Still, Olympic athletes have historically not been paid by the IOC, including those who make the podium.
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