Olympic tradition broken as athletes at Paris games told they will receive £40,000 for victory

The governing body of track and field sport has broken with 128 years of Olympic tradition by becoming the first to give athletes prize money if they are victorious in the Paris games this summer.

- Sean Ingle

Sebastian Coe, a gold medal winner for Great Britain at two Olympic Games and now the president of World Athletics, said the surprise move, under which gold medal-winning athletes in each of the sport's 48 events will receive $50,000 (£40,000), was a reflection that the world had changed and said it was time his sport gave more to its stars.

However, the decision clearly caught the International Olympic Committee off guard: it has never awarded money for participating or winning a medal.

Asked whether the announcement would violate the Olympic spirit, Lord Coe said: "I don't think it does. I came from an era where to compete for the UK, it was a second-class rail ticket, or a 5p per mile allowance, and you went for the one that was the best margin and a 75p meal voucher.

"My view is that the world has changed. It's really important that where possible we create a sport that is financially viable for our competitors. This is the beginning of that."

Although some national federations and sponsors have offered Olympic bonuses for decades, it is the first time since the founding of the modern Games in 1896 that a gold medal will come with a guaranteed monetary prize from a sport's governing body.