The European Athletics Federation will distribute money at the 2024 European Championships in Rome.
The Finnish Sports Federation awarded Wilma Murro (center) with 10,000 euros for the 2022 European Championship. PASI LEISMA
The European Athletics Federation EA has decided on a noticeable change. EA will pay prize money to the winners for the first time in history at the EC outdoor track championships in Rome next June. The European Championships have been organized since 1934.
In the past, possible success bonuses have always been in the account of the national associations. The Finnish Sports Association SUL gave To Wilma Murro and Top for Raitase 10,000 euros per athlete for the European Championship gold in Munich 2022. Kristiina Mäkelä got 8,000 and Lassi Etelätalo 6,000 euros for bronze.
EA has not yet decided how many athletes per sport will get the prize money. The sums are also still open.
– The money is certainly smaller than in WA. According to my estimate, about 10–20 percent of the total prize money of the World Cup. I assume that in Rome a few winners per sport will be awarded. I believe that EA will decide on the matter in January, commented a member of the board of WA and EA Antti Pihlakoski.
The International Association of Athletics Federations WA paid about 64,000 for the gold medal, about 32,000 for the silver and about 20,000 for the bronze at the World Championships in Budapest last summer. All eight athletes who made it to the points in each sport made an account. The eighth pot was around 4,600 euros.
Many national federations, including SUL, have not paid prize money to the winners of the World Cup.
Reason in Paris
Lassi Etelätalo received 6,000 euros from the Sports Confederation for the European Championship bronze in Munich. PASI LEISMA
The Finnish Sports Confederation has not yet decided how it will work with the prize money in Rome.
– There has been a clear line at the World Cup: double bonuses have not been paid, so to speak. Regarding the European Championships, I think there are full grounds for us to act in the same way, states the chairman of SUL Riikka Pakarinen and underlines that SUL has not yet decided on the matter.
The ultimate reason for EA’s money bonuses is probably the Paris Olympics. The prize money on offer in Rome might lower the threshold for some European stars to participate in the event in the eternal city.
The European Championship in Rome will take place on June 7–12, 2024. The athletics trials of the Paris Olympic Games will be held from 1 to 11 August 2024.
– Most of the Europeans come to the European Championships. The very best are looking for Olympic gold and are considering whether to participate in the European Championships. If there are cash prizes in the European Championships, many will certainly equate the European Championships with one Diamond League competition, says Pihlakoski.
In the Diamond League, the top eight per sport earned a total of around 28,400 euros in the 2023 season. The winner’s wallet swelled by around 9,500 euros.
Necessary
Kristiina Mäkelä earned 8,000 euros from the Sports Association for the summer 2022 EC silver. PASI LEISMA
Iltalehti’s athletics expert Arto Bryggare considers change necessary.
– It’s the only way to keep the European Championships alive. If desired Armand Duplantis and a few others along, it cannot be assumed that they will come automatically, says Bryggare.
According to the expert, the Finnish Sports Federation should also pay bonuses – not for the ranking, but for the result.
– If you set a Finnish record, the world’s top result, a world record or a European record, you should be rewarded for it. And not only at the European Championships, but also at the Kaleva Games and the match against Sweden.