Finalists at the Rome 2024 European Athletics Championships will get prize money
Performance bonuses will be introduced in the
European Athletics competition when the flagship Championships take place in Rome next year.
The landmark decision to introduce financial rewards for athletes was made unanimously by the European Athletics Council meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The format and the structure of the bonuses that will appear at the European Athletics Championships for the first time since they began in 1934 will be "unveiled at a later date", according to the governing body.
"I am very pleased that we have been able to announce that for the first time, there will be performance bonuses awarded at the European Athletics Championships. This is a historic decision," said European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov.
"Offering special bonuses for excellent achievements by our athletes in this important format will further incentivize Europe’s top athletes competing in Rome next summer but also it adds an additional point of interest for the fans and media which, in turn, definitely adds value to the championships.
"We will of course continue our very stable and sustainable investment in events, competitions Member Federations, and athletics development.
"However, this historic Council decision will further strengthen our position of always having the athletes themselves at the forefront of our thinking.
"European Athletics is now able to further enhance the attractiveness of the premier event in our competition portfolio without diminishing our other important commitments."
European Athletics Athletes Committee chair Lea Sprunger, Switzerland’s 2018 European women’s 400 metres hurdles champion, added: "I, and the rest of the Athletes Committee, welcome this decision for the European Athletics Championships.
"All of us on the Committee have been pushing for more financial opportunities for athletes and see this as a first good step in the right direction.”
Karamarinov hinted at the possibility of a new policy in May this year while speaking to insidethegames after his re-election as President.
Prize money has been paid at the World Athletics Championships since the 1997 edition in Athens, which offered individual gold medallists $60,000 (£49,000/€57,000) and $100,000 (£82,300/€95,000) for world records.
The amount for world records remains at $100,000, while the gold medal amount, as of this year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, is $70,000 (£57,500/€66,500).
