The storm continues. A week after the announcement by World Athletics of its plan to reward gold medalists in athletics at the Paris 2024 with a bonus of 50.000 dollars, criticism is growing. Surprise: some of the most virulent come from Great Britain, the country of Sebastian Coe, the president of the body. After former rower Steve Redgrave, another widely heard voice in British sport took the floor to express his hostility to the historic advancement of athletics. Andy Anson (pictured above), the chief executive of the British Olympic Committee (BOA), explained this to Sky Sports: " I think what was wrong with last week's announcement is that one sport is doing something on its own, without including others, the IOC or the national Olympic committees. This creates a real problem, because now other sports will be observed, and we can expect pressure from athletes who will say: how can this sport do it and not us? This is a debate we can have, but we must have it at the right time, in the right place and together. With this announcement, there is today the risk of a two-speed sport, even if the number of athletes concerned (the Olympic champions of the 48 athletics disciplines) is ultimately quite reduced. Nobody wants this to happen.» Present this week at Olympia for the lighting of the flame, two of the French members of the IOC, David Lappartient and Jean-Christophe Rolland, presidents of the international federations of cycling (UCI) and rowing (World Rowing), expressed the same distrust towards the World Athletics project. The Association of African National Olympic Committees (ACNOA) also criticized in a press release a decision that it considers contrary to the principle of solidarity of the Olympic movement. On a completely different subject, Andy Anson told the British channel his feelings about the opening ceremony of the Paris 2026 Games, Friday July 26 on the Seine. “ I'm clearly concerned, he admitted. This is one of the most important things we need to manage from a risk perspective. »
