The XX World Athletics Championships, which took place in Budapest, capital of Hungary, as the venue of the third most important event of the international sports concert, only surpassed by the Olympic Games and the Football World Cup, recently concluded. However, despite being one of the most popular sports in the world and being the king of sports, it is not one of the best paid, far from it.
In spite of the above, it must be said that in this world championship the amount received by the winners of the gold, silver and bronze medals was increased and the rule was followed of also rewarding all those who reached the final and occupied the fourth to eighth places.
For this reason, and according to figures from World Athletic, the governing body of international athletics, more than eight million dollars were distributed in this event, among the 49 events included in the athletic program.
In this publication the author will refer to the seven athletes who received the highest monetary bonus as a result of the medals and/or places they achieved during this competition and will share other details of interest related to this event.
Awards and sport
Sport has become one of the activities that generates the most money and is one of the most followed by fans from all over the world. For this reason, more and more training methods are being perfected and the living conditions of athletes and their coaches are being improved.
Likewise, sports competitions are becoming more attractive and one of the reasons for this is the prizes that athletes receive for winning the gold medal or other medals and places in the competition.
This is something that has become an activity that generates a lot of economic income and that, in many occasions, its main protagonists are the best beneficiaries because, in addition to the entrance fees, they also generate income from television rights, advertising and marketing campaigns, competition venues and a very good gear that makes sport one of the most profitable and lucrative activities.
The prizes of the World Athletics Championships
For this world championship, the amount received by the world champions was increased, since the prize for the champion was sixty thousand dollars and now it has been increased to seventy thousand dollars.
But not only the champion received a monetary reward for his results, but also the first place to the eighth place received an economic benefit. Thus, this is the bonus received by the athletes:
Gold medal in each discipline: US$70,000,
Silver medal US$35,000,
Bronze medal: US$ 22,000,
Fourth place: US$ 16,000,
Fifth place: US$ 11,000,
Sixth place: $7,000,
Seventh place: $6,000,
Eighth place: US$ 5,000,
In the case of the relay event the prizes were distributed among the first three places and the amount established was:
Gold medal: US$80,000,
Silver medal: US$40,000,
Bronze medal: US$20,000,
The seven athletes who earned the most money at the World Championships in Athletics
For several days this author has been reviewing the performance of each of the champions and the athletes who participated in more than one event because they are the ones who were most likely to achieve the greatest economic benefits. However, the quality of all the athletes and the sustained struggle in each of the disciplines prevented many athletes from winning in more than one event.
Only 4 athletes managed to win two gold medals and, among them, one won a third, but combined with other teammates, in a relay event. Here are the seven winners:
I.Noah Lyles of the United States. He was the best athlete in the world and the only one to win three gold medals, winning in the 100m, 200m and also in the 4x100m relay. He won a total of 160,000 dollars.
II. Alvaro Marin of Spain. He won the two distances of Race Walking at 20 and 35 kilometers and this allowed him to receive 140,000 dollars.
III. Maria Perez of Spain. Like her compatriot, she won the two distances of the women's Race Walk and pocketed 140,000 dollars.
IV. Faith Kipyegon of Kenya. This African athlete was superior to all her rivals and won the gold medal in the two distances in which she participated (1500 and 5000 meters) and was able to add 140 thousand dollars to her patrimony.
V.Shericka Jackson of Jamaica. won the gold medal in the 200 meters flat and won two silver medals in the 100 meters flat and in the 4x100 meters relay, which allowed her to earn the sum of 115 thousand dollars.
VI.Sha'Carri Richardson of the United States. The American athlete won three medals, two gold and one bronze. The gold medals were in the 100 meters flat and in the 4x100 relay, while the bronze was in the 200 meters. As a result, this athlete took home 112 thousand dollars from Budapest.
VII. Jakob Ingebritsen of Norway. In the distances in which he competed he was the clear favorite, but he could only win in the 5000 meters flat because he was defeated in the 1500 meters. In spite of the above, he won a prize of 105 thousand dollars as a result of the gold and silver medals he won.
A final comment
So far this analysis made by the author, in which he dealt with the prizes won by the athletes in the World Athletics Championships that recently ended in Budapest, capital of Hungary.
It is true that, in sports such as Tennis, Soccer or Golf, athletes receive more benefits than in this sport, but, what cannot be denied is that sport is generating wealth and economic benefits that are increasingly greater, which forces athletes to train and prepare themselves to the maximum, in order to achieve the best results and the greatest benefits.
Note: I used the translator DeepL Translate.
