According to a report by the Herald Sun, international swimmers who win medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics may receive appearance money to participate in the three stops of the World Cup. Gold Medalists in track and field at the Paris Olympics will also receive $50,000 (USD) as part of this plan.
The idea for offering money to swimmers came about after it was announced that Gold Medalists in track and field would receive such financial incentives. It is reported that some of the biggest stars already have exclusive deals lined up, regardless of their results in Paris. Australian swimmers are among those who have proposed these deals.
Sources have clarified that the additional financial incentives are not related to the recent Chinese doping scandal, where 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for the banned substance TMZ earlier this year. The swimmers were not penalized by CHINADA as traces of TMZ were found in their hotel. WADA supported CHINADA’s decision.
The 2024 World Cup will have three stops – Shanghai from October 18-20th, Incheon, South Korea from October 24-26th, and Singapore from October 31st-November 2nd. Concerns have been raised that some swimmers may choose to skip the first stop due to its location and distance from home countries.
In the previous year’s World Cup, top swimmers like Australia’s Kaylee McKeown and China’s Qin Haiyang won the women’s and men’s titles, respectively. Qin was one of the swimmers who tested positive earlier in the year. Both swimmers received substantial prize money, with McKeown taking home $186,000 and Qin receiving $166,000. In total, over $1 million was distributed in prize money to athletes.
