“Extremely Underpaid”: Femke Bol Fans Voice Their Opinions Against the Dark Reality of Sport

“It was amazing,” was the satisfied response from Femke Bol on March 2. That day, the Commonwealth Indoor Arena witnessed the Dutch woman cruising through the 400m indoor WR. That achievement was somewhat expected for a blazing athlete as she is well-versed in surpassing records. However, making the fans’ expectations true, in the 4x400m relay in the women’s category, Femke Bol appeared to hold the reins the very next day. 

This time as well, Femke Bol came stunningly fast, taking her orange jersey-clad squad to the top podium again. Her sincere fans couldn’t find words to explain the humongous achievement of the 24-year-old athlete. However, soon a stark track and field scenario hit Femke Bol as her fans’ joy turned into disbelief. 

Femke Bol earns in pennies after registering records in millions 

After the ornamented conclusion of the World Athletics Indoor Championship in Glasgow, several questions seemed to disturb the governing authorities. A payment concern was among those burning issues. Adding fuel to that, Citiusmag’s IG handle posted a detailed summary of Femke Bol’s earnings from the prize money from Glasgow on Monday. “Not too shabby of a trip to Glasgow for @femke_bol!” the post caption flaunted a stark difference between the achievements on the track and the prize money. On March 1-3 in Glasgow, Femke Bol participated in 5 sprinting affairs. In each of those, the world champion posted her full efforts, creating marvels. 

Even in the multiple changes in the Dutch women’s relay team, she, along with Lisanne De Witte, remained constant. However, for such hearty effort and mountainous achievements, Femke received USD 100,000. Her New Balance brand engagement is yet to announce any prize money for the 2x World Indoor Champion. This fiasco raised a kerfuffle from Femke Bol’s fans. In the mentioned IG post, the track and field fanatics came out in numbers to post their agony. 

A much smaller payment asks for a better explanation 

“Thats unbelievably low”, failing to veil his disbelief, the IG handle, andrew. nyland_ etched his response. This prompted fan @junior.roxx to contemplate the sacrifices athletes make in their disciplines. “This is extremely underpaid! You’re literally going home with 2 Gold’s and breaking a WR. Wish T&F athletes got paid way more for all the hard work they do all year-round!”, he added. 

The problem was already out in the open. The track and field aficionado, Ed Cotton made it more ravaging. “She’s at the very top of the game and might be considered under paid compared to tennis players for example…” was his tone, bringing the comparison with other sports fields. 

Read more: World Record Breaker Femke Bol Drops Massive Update on Her Paris Olympics 2024 Participation

Meanwhile, Gregrunz sharpened the issue, asking Femke Bol’s real earnings from the prize money. “How much of that does she actually see? Just curious. Does she have to pay coaches and other staff members?” he penned. But the overall mood resonated in track and field coach Kathy Devaney’s argument. She embellished the comment box with penning, “More. Please.”

Also read: World Athletics Indoor Championships 2024: Grant Holloway Live Result, Updates, And More – Day 2