LIKE athletics, boxing will hand out monetary rewards to Paris Olympics medalists for the first time in history.
The International Boxing Association (IBA) made the announcement recently, saying gold medal winners will receive $100,000 while silver and bronze winners get $50,000 and $25,000, respectively.
This came after World Athletics, track and field’s global governing body, announced in April that it would offer $50,000 to gold winners to its Olympic champions, the first in the history of the quadrennial meet.
According to IBA president Umar Kremlev, half of the prize will go to the winning boxer; the rest will be equally divided by the coach and the national sports association.
Mr. Kremlev said the total money they have committed is worth more than $3.1 million, to be distributed to more than 100 boxers.
The International Olympic Committee stripped IBA of recognition over the latter’s failure to complete reforms on governance, finance and ethical issues.
Because of this, IBA isn’t organizing boxing tournaments in Paris, which are being handled by the IOC.
There are also fears the IOC might exclude boxing in future Olympics as it is not on the initial program for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. — Joey Villar
