Has the IOC allowed the drug-fuelled Enhanced Games to take the moral high ground?
Athlete pay is once again in the headlines after International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry said professional athletes shouldn’t be reimbursed by sporting competitions.
In an interview with Sport Nation NZ, Coventry was asked where she stood on paying athletes, to which she responded: “I don’t believe in paying athletes.”
The soundbite caused quite a stir on social media, prompting the the IOC president to explain her perspective.
“I come from a small country, I came from a sport that doesn’t necessarily pay athletes very well and I still don’t believe that we should be paying athletes at the Olympic Games.”
The Olympics have repeatedly been scrutinised for not paying athletes over the years, with many relying on national government bonuses, international sports federation payouts, brand sponsorships or grants.
It is a controversial subject because the Olympics generate billions of pounds a year, with the Paris Games in 2024 bringing in around £3.28bn.
Despite this revenue, athletes don’t see any of it. This is a completely different model from most sports leagues and organisations around the world, where athletes are usually among the highest paid.
The interviewer questioned the model, highlighting to Coventry that athletes’ name, image, and likeness are used without compensation.
“They get beautiful venues, they get beautiful villages, they get a beautiful experience, and all of that comes from the money that we raise,” she responded.
A mountain of backlash
Unsurprisingly, the majority of reactions to Coventry’s comments were negative, with some shocked by her response and others quick to point out the flaws in the IOC’s business model.
Before rising to the title of president, Coventry was a successful Olympic athlete. She won a total of seven Olympic medals during her competitive swimming career, making her the most decorated African Olympian in history.
While she wouldn’t have been paid for these achievements, critics questioned why she wouldn’t want to use her position to advocate for athletes to be paid now.
Others were less confused and pointed to the wages she now earns. According to The Inquistor, Coventry earns an annual salary of $350k (£261k), plus a housing allowance. During the 2021–2024 Olympic cycle, upwards of $55m was paid to IOC directors.
Current athletes also shared their thoughts on social media, with 800m Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson, who has become the face of British running, commenting: “Eeeeee this won’t age well.”
Is the clock ticking for the IOC?
Though Hodgkinson was likely making a point about the level of scrutiny Coventry will face following her statement, her comments arguably could be interpreted in a different way.
One of the reasons the IOC has not been forced to change its model is due to a lack of competition, with the Olympics viewed as the most prestigious sporting event. Many events have tried to attract athletes away from the competition with the promise of proper compensation, but many have failed to take off.
One of the most recent examples of this was the Grand Slam Track (GST) league, founded by former Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson. GST was launched in 2024 with the promise of a fan-focused, commercially ambitious league which would deliver substantial prize money and appearance fees. However, the organisation declared bankruptcy last year after a shaky start.
The Enhanced Games is the latest entrant in the space, which once again promises athletes they will be paid handsomely. The inaugural event took place last weekend, with athletes paid $250,000 for winning their discipline and one swimmer was handed $1m for breaking the World Record.
However, the catch is that athletes are permitted to take performance-enhancing drugs to aid their mission of winning and breaking records. Clean athletes are also invited to take part and, in fact, performed much better than those who used substances typically prohibited in traditional sports.
It is this pharmaceutical side that allows the organisation to pay such high rewards, as the drugs used in competition are later marketed and sold to the general public. Speaking to Insider Sport in 2024, Aron D’Souza, Founder of Enhanced Games, commented on the IOC.
“The average US Olympian only earns $30,000 a year and that’s really unfortunate,” he said, comparing this with the high earnings of athletes in other major leagues like the NBA or the Premier League.
“It’s okay if the head of UEFA or FIFA has a private jet because Ronaldo has one, but I think it’s intrinsically wrong that sports bureaucrats in the Olympic system are better paid than the athletes. The athletes are the core value creators.”
The organisation appears to be leaning into this, following Coventry’s comments, as just hours later it upped its reward for beating Usain Bolt’s 100m record from $1m to $10m.
