$50K Olympic track prize the latest in a long, conflicted relationship between athletes and money

Since the day they were founded, the Olympics have had a confusing relationship with money. This week’s news that track’s international federation will pay $50,000 to gold-medal winners at the Paris Games was the latest step in a century’s worth of unraveling the myth of amateurism at the Olympics. In one speech, according to the authoritative book on the topic, “The Rise and Fall of Olympic Amateurism,” he “warned against the ‘spirit of gain and professionalism’ that threatened its existence.’” But not long after that, “he denounced amateurism as ‘an admirable mummy.’” THE GREATEST OLYMPIAN In what’s considered one of the most shameful episodes in the history of the games, the IOC stripped Jim Thorpe of the two gold medals he won at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics because he had played semi-pro baseball before that. THE WORKAROUND As the Cold War began, the Soviet Union, East Germany and other Eastern bloc satellites started handing well-paying “jobs” in the military and other civil services to Olympic athletes. THEN TO NOW Most countries now establish prize pools — such as Team USA’s “Project Gold” — for their top athletes at the Olympics, while also funding training and living expenses.