As the Paris Olympics 2024 draws nearer, more and more things keep offering incentives to track and field stars to help them stay motivated. Only yesterday, the World Athletics Association announced a $50,000 prize money, eclipsing the USA national team’s proposal of a $37,500 promise for gold winners at the French capital. However, the amount still irked many current and former athletes because of its relatively low sum. And now, the 2004 Athens Olympics gold medalist Justin Gatlin joins the list of superstars to lash out at the WAA.

Gatlin isn’t one known to keep his controversial thoughts to himself. With the Paris Olympics’ shadow getting longer overhead, the four-time World Championships gold medalist now once again has a few things to say after news of the prize money was revealed.

Track and field veteran not onboard with the meager prize

Olympic athletes toil their entire lives to achieve glory on the biggest stage. With the Olympics happening once every four years, the reverence for the gold medalists should be all the more elaborate. And yet, the alleged disrespect shown by Team USA and the World Athletics is something that Gatlin just can’t get over. Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter) Justin fumed with frustration “50k for a life changing moment?“.

“A moment that these Olympic athletes have dedicated their lives and sacrificed for“, Gatlin evidently couldn’t hold back his surprise to learn about the World Athletics’ decision to acknowledge the efforts displayed by the world’s top stars in Paris later this year. He further noted that the amount isn’t something that can elevate the standard of living for the stars or even give them any extra incentives to keep pushing for more.

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“They can’t buy a car nor a house with 50k, it should be at least double the World Championship“, Gatlin exclaimed with genuine earnestness. While the clamor surrounding the recent issue is making the track and field community hear all the alarm bells, more issues are also prompting them to express their dissatisfaction across digital spaces.

More issues rearing their heads

Only recently it was revealed that from 2025, the official broadcasting of the Diamond League will be done via FloTrack, one of the world’s leading track and field platforms. Since the announcement, fans have created quite a ruckus alleging that such a move can restrict a significant portion of track enthusiasts from being able to follow their favorite athletes’ performances. Another Olympic legend Michael Johnson also expressed concerns over issues that are becoming troublesome for the sport. With concerns over track and field heading toward a gradual death, Johnson cited the recent matter of the US opting out of the World U20 Championships in Lima, Peru.

With the athletics community being swamped by multiple concerning issues, the latest matter of low payments from Team USA and the World Athletics only adds to the problems.

Is Track and Field Dying? 12x American Olympic Medalist Drops Concerning Plea