Considering the astronomical sums of money involved in top-level sport these days, it’s somewhat quaint to consider that so many of the world’s top athletes spend their lives striving for something that won’t earn them a penny.

Not directly, anyway.

There are already many, many by-products of becoming Olympic champion.

To name but a few, there’s the fulfillment of, in most cases, a life-long dream; the rise in profile afforded by such an achievement and the satisfaction of proving yourself to be the very best on the planet on the one day that matters more than any other in the sporting world.

But never has one of the by-products ever been remuneration.

Which is why this week has been so significant with the introduction of Olympic prize money.

To date, the entire ethos of the Olympic Games has been based on amateurism meaning that not a penny has ever been directly awarded to athletes for medal-winning performances.

However, from this summer, this will change, with World Athletics announcing they will become the first federation to award prize money at the Olympics.

A prize pot of $2.4 million (£1.9 million) will be on offer at Paris 2024 this summer, meaning track and field athletes who win gold will walk away with a cool $50,000 in their pocket.

In Paris, it will be only the victors who will receive prize money however, the plan is to extend this to silver and bronze medallists in 2028.

The introduction of a financial........

© Herald Scotland