Prize money is something that most track and field athletes rely upon as the main source of income. And that’s too less than the minimum wage offered in the USA! Interestingly, the income of track and field athletes came into the limelight after World Athletics’ recent declaration ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, wherein they promised track athletes $50,000 for each Olympic gold.

As the news spread like wildfire, it also garnered the attention of track and field sensation Kyree King. At this moment, he was not able to resist himself from spreading reality among his spectators. What’s the reality?

Looking into track and field from Kyree Kings’ lens

Kyree King took it to his official Instagram account and penned, “Eight months for 2 bands… not weeks but 8 f*****g months…”. And, to spill the beans, he added relevant proofs for making such claims. Within hours of uploading, Kyree’s frustration once again made waves across the internet.

Amongst those supporting Kyree, Olympic and world champion Michael Johnson penned, “This is not new. Kudos to @kyree_king for putting it out there. Track depends on secrecy to mistreat athletes. Track has the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ and depends on the have nots being so embarrassed they never reveal they are actually the have nots.” Back during his college days, Kyree King opted to get added to the transfer portal thrice majorly due to funding cuts.

Sha’Carri Richardson’s withdrawal shines light on track’s pay disparity

In a recent news, Sha’Carri Richardson reportedly withdrew from the Miramar Invitational debut. Though the reason was not clear why she pulled out, but it has been speculated that she did so due to “increased appearance fee”. Apart from Kyree, Richardson too has been vocal many times about these unfair pay issues. But why isn’t World Athletics responding to these fervent debates?

The major reason behind seems to be the “underearning” of the sport. Quite evidently, Track is lagging behind most sports like NFL and NBA. “There’s a misconception about the profitability of the World Athletics (Athletics Governing Body)… Athletes aren’t being underpaid; the sport is underearning,” said Rori Dunk on his official Twitter account.

Now, the question is why is track underearning? You might think that track and field is not engaging for viewers. But, that’s not true. Unfortunately, despite pouring utmost efforts, track suffers a lack of media coverage leading to less pay for the sport and athletes alike. Will this issue be resolved? Comment down below.