Sport Industry Group

IAAF will not cut prize money- 9 Aug 2010 00:00:00

The International Association of Athletics Federations president Lamine Diack has assured athletes that prize money at major events will not be cut as part of a R144.6m £12.5m money-saving programme.



The IAAF announced the planned cuts earlier this year, citing that they were needed for athletics to endure the global recession.



At the World Championships in Berlin last year the IAAF paid athletes R52m in prize money - with each gold medalist winning R434,000 and world record breakers getting an additional R723,000 bonus.



Diack said: ‘Following our last Council meeting, in Doha in March, the IAAF management took a hard look at the IAAF’s financial status in a time of economic uncertainty, with the aim to ensure that we could cut costs but also consider new revenue sources.’

‘I am delighted that the Council accepted that a great effort had been made, led by the treasurer Jean Poczubut and supported by each IAAF department, to reduce costs significantly.’



‘The important point is that we have done this without damaging the IAAF’s core business or fundamental projects which count as an investment in our future.’



The IAAF's financial situation was given a boost when Samsung signed up to sponsor the Diamond League in a R29m deal in June.

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