Olympians will be able to apply for a new grant of $10,000 (£7,600) for each Games they compete in, says the International Olympic Committee.
The ‘fit for the future Olympian grant’ has been established to support the sporting career of Olympic athletes, or their career transition.
A fund of $140m (£106.5m) will be set aside for each Olympic Games, with the athletes who competed at this year’s Winter Olympics the first to be able to apply.
Around 14,000 Olympians per Games are expected to be eligible for the grant.
It will not be available to any athlete who commits an anti-doping violation or violates the IOC code of ethics, the conditions of participation, or the Olympic Charter.
The grant will be delivered through existing National Olympic Committee (NOC) structures and will not be reduced because of any existing support programmes provided by the IOC to the NOCs, international sports federations, Olympic organising committees or Olympic Solidarity.
Some national Olympic committees offer prize money, although the British Olympic Association is not one of them.
The new initiative is one of the first actions taken as part of the IOC’s ‘fit for the future’ framework to find new ways to support athletes.
Spain’s three-time basketball medalist Pau Gasol, now chair of the IOC’s athletes’ commission, said: “While every athlete’s journey is different, every Olympian has made sacrifices to reach the Olympic stage – years of dedication, years of hard work, years of believing in a dream.
“This is not prize money. This is about recognising the journey and the commitment it takes to become an Olympian. And it is about recognising that every Olympian is part of our Olympic community, and honouring those who have come before us and paved the way, so that current and future generations of Olympians can benefit.”
At the Paris 2024 Games, World Athletics became the first international federation to award Olympic prize money, with gold medallists receiving $50,000 (£38,000). It will be extended to silver and bronze medallists at Los Angeles 2028.
While IOC president Kirsty Coventry has said she is against offering Olympic prize money,, external she feels the organisation must “find more ways to directly impact athletes and help them on their journey”.
On Wednesday she added: “It has been a topic of conversation for many years, and I am extremely proud that we are now able to do this.”
The grant will be available to all athletes who compete in the Olympics with an Aa accreditation, and does not extend to those who compete in the Youth Olympic Games.
The IOC aims for the application process for 2026 Olympians to be open at the end of this year, with the first payments being made in 2027.
During the 146th IOC session in Lausanne, Switzerland, amendments to the Olympic Charter were also approved, such as strengthening language which emphasises sport’s political neutrality.
Changes to the Olympic programme were also accepted, meaning that individual disciplines, rather than entire sports, will be evaluated for selection in the summer and winter Games, from Brisbane 2032.
