'Not worth it': Australian Olympic champions hit back at controversial IOC prizemoney debate

Reigning Olympic champion Cam McEvoy has entered the discussion of Olympics prizemoney, proving the IOC's "boatloads" of revenue could easily afford to support its competitors.

It comes off the back of IOC president Kirsty Coventry revealed earlier this week that she does not agree that athletes should be paid prizemoney for winning medals at the Olympic Games.

"If every athlete who competes at the Olympics is paid $10k as an appearance fee, and every gold/silver/bronze earns 100k/60k/25k (including individuals on teams) then that would be around $180m - which is only 1.5 per cent of the quadrennial revenue ($12 billion) the IOC generates," McEvoy's Instagram comment said under a post quoting Coventry on the topic.

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McEvoy drew a stark contrast between the Olympics and major professional sports leagues like the NBA.

"For reference, the NBA has a 50 per cent revenue share with the players. You can have prize money and pay all athletes to help those who aren't the absolute top and still be extremely comfortable with your boatloads of revenue," he continued.

Multiple Olympic champions flocked to the same post's comment section to back his stance, with Australian hurdles great Sally Pearson writing, "Same things, different words."

Coventry has held the stance on athlete payments since taking on the top job at the IOC, using her own experiences as an Olympic swimmer for Zimbabwe when speaking on the matter.

"I come from a small country, I came from a sport that doesn't necessarily pay athletes very well, and I still don't think we should be paying athletes at the Olympic Games," Coventry told Sport Nation NZ earlier this week.

"I was an Olympic solidarity scholarship holder without that (prize) money. I'm not sure I would have been anymore successful, and so I'm so grateful for that."

The debate comes amid an unfavourable time for Olympic athletes, given the world witnessed some competitors joining the Enhanced Games to chase lucrative prizemoney.

While the controversial event did not topple as many world records as expected, athletes recognised the life-changing income they had earned just by competing. Kristian Gkolomeev, a four-time Olympian, won over $2.8m AUD for two record-breaking races in the men's 50m freestyle.

Seven-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist for Australia, Lisa Curry, echoed the massive disparity in earning potential.

"The girl who won the 100 freestyle at the Enhanced Games took home $250,000 USD … for a very average time most of our Australian swimmers could do any day without a warm up," she commented on social media.

Aussie swimming great Leisel Jones has slammed the 'absurd' remark made by the International Olympic Committee president that Olympians should not be paid for medalling, admitting that she would not encourage any athlete to pursue their sport if that is to be the case.

Coventry did not deny that financial struggles are a leading talking point among Olympic athletes, noting that she is eager to find pathways that "directly impact athletes" to help them on their journey to being Olympians.

But she feels that athletes should be content with staying in the "beautiful venues and villages" provided by the IOC at the Olympic Games in trade for the governing body being able to use their name and image for monetary gain when promoting the event.

Jones, a nine-time Olympic medallist, slammed Coventry's stance on athlete pay and urged her to do her own job "for free and see how much better a job" she does.

She then declared that she could not encourage any Australian athlete to consider pursuing an Olympic dream if no prizemoney is on offer as "glory doesn't pay the bills".

"I would actually say to people the glory is not worth it," Jones said, speaking on her morning breakfast show on Triple M Gold.

"The bills are so expensive, I would say the Olympic Games are not worth pursuing if you're not going to pay (the athletes).

"We've seen athletes jump from Olympic sports because glory doesn't pay the bills. The Enhanced Games is pretty appealing when you can rock up and earn a million dollars.

"I don't have children myself but I would highly encourage not to go to the Olympic Games because life is expensive.

"0.01 per cent (of athletes) make it. You will be in debt for a long time. Nat Cook (an Australian beach volleyball player) said she was nearly $350,000 in debt after winning in Sydney (in 2000).

"It's a burden you want to carry and if Kirsty Coventry is coming out saying don't pay athletes then that is not what you want."

Jones revealed she earned $40,000 AUD for winning gold throughout her career, however, she could only receive that sum if she committed to the next Olympics.

"If you're on your fifth Olympics and finally get a gold medal, you had to commit to a sixth Olympics to get paid," she added.

"These people are living on the bare minimum dollars."

At the 2024 Olympic Games, athletes were paid $20,000 AUD via the Australian Olympic Committee if they won gold. $15,000 was awarded for silver and $10,000 for bronze.

That monetary sum is only awarded if they committed to the next Olympic Games.