“I don’t make my money on the track,” Back in March 2025, Gabby Thomas said in a podcast. She was discussing the money she got from winning three gold medals in the 2024 Olympics. “For a gold medal in the U.S., you get paid $37,000,” she said. The reaction from the host – “That’s it? 37 G’s for what could be a lifetime worth of work? No, absolutely.” The money was extremely low for any track and field athlete who puts their whole life into that one medal. Fans were disappointed back then.

Now Gabby is not coming to Tokyo, but her compatriot Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will be there, and she will not be earning much either. The same sentiment is for the World Championships. The total prize money allocated by World Athletics for the Tokyo 2025 Championships is US$8,498,000. So who’s getting how much?

“Prize monies for the Tokyo 2025 World Championships!👀” captioned Track and Field Gazette to a tweet made today. So who’s getting how much? Every finalist in the individual events receives a payment, with the champion earning $70,000, the silver medalist $35,000, and the bronze medalist $22,000. The money keeps flowing down the line: 4th place collects $16,000, 5th takes $11,000, 6th earns $7,000, 7th gets $6,000, and even 8th pockets $5,000. The relay team also gets its share.

Finish first and your team gets $80,000, while a silver medal brings in $40,000. As for bronze, it $20,000. 4th place gets you the same as Individual events for the same position, while 5th place takes a plus of $1000. The 6th place will earn you $8,000, while finishing 7th will result in a $6,000 payout. 8th place earns $4,000. The fans are not happy.

According to Nagashima, Ohno & Tsunematsu (NO&T), in Japan, prize money is taxed as domestic income: non-residents face a flat 20.42% withholding tax, while residents pay progressive rates that can reach up to 55.945% with local and reconstruction taxes included. Counting all os this in the track and field community is not very happy with the prize money.

Fans disappointed over Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and others’ prize money

A user said, “Extremely low for the best in the world. Athletes deserve to be compensated much better.” The  $70,000, which might sound like a lot, but when you factor in years of full-time training, coaching, travel, medical support, and living expenses, it often barely covers the costs. Another fan pointed out, “Just realized now that track and field athletes earn small, compared to other sports including golf and tennis.” No debates here, in 2021, the average earnings for a PGA Tour player were approximately $1.48 million.

Another user brought Tennis into the discussion, writing, “After a week of watching the US open, I’m baffled by the prize money in track and field. You get a $110,000 for just reaching the first round in the US open. This sport is truly underfunded.” The total 2025 US Open Prize Money was $31,620,000 for the Women’s / Men’s Singles, where the winner got $5,000,000.

A track and field fan also said, “Mediocre footballers make more than this a week, often while sitting on the bench. Also, what about the events that contain more than 8 competitors? Are those who finish 9th & below getting nothing?” The comparison to football also echoed in another comment from a fan, commenting, “Most football players in European leagues earn more than 1st place every single week!” In the Premier League, the average weekly salary of £80,000 translates to roughly $100,000.

The top players can earn up to £525,000 per week, or about $656,000. Even the average player’s weekly pay exceeds the $70,000 awarded to a gold medalist at the 2025 World Athletics Championships. So Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who is taking a new challenge, or Noah Lyles, who has come back from injury and is defending his title, won’t be getting much money when you compare it to other sports.  What do you think? Is the money justified?