Harsh pay reality about USA athletes revealed after USATF Indoor Championships.
Former USA middle distance runner Russell Dinkins has questioned why USATF prize money has remained the same for the last eight years.
Dinkins, who is currently executive director at Track Smith, compared the prize money from the 2017 and 2025 USATF Indoor Championships on his X platform.
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Dinkins, who secured fourth place at the 2017 Indoor Championships, noted that despite eight years passing, athletes are still receiving the same amount of money. He expressed frustration, pointing out that the value of those prizes has significantly decreased when adjusted for inflation.
Why Kishane Thompson’s decision to take part in the World Indoor Championships could be bad news for his competitors, especially Noah Lyles.
“So in 2017 I got 4th at Indoor USAs so I was curious how the prize money then compared to know….”It’s the same! 8 years later it’s the same money! With inflation these athletes are receiving far less than we received in 2017 comparably. This is not okay,” he said.
This will likely indicate that top USA athletes like 100m world champion Sha’Carri Richardson, Olympic champions Noah Lyles, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas among others have been robbed.
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Benni McCarthy is set to be unveiled as Kenya’s new head coach on Friday, marking a major step in the team’s rebuild.
In 2017, the prize for first place was $6,000, second place earned $4,000, and third place was awarded $2,500. The fourth and fifth positions received $1,500 and $1,000, respectively. Fast forward to 2025, and the prize money for the top five positions has remained the same, with no increase in payouts, even accounting for inflation.
There was a low turnout at this year’s USATF indoors championship’s due to financial mismanagement according to reports.
USATF reported $5.6 million deficit in 2023, with revenues dropping from $37.94 million to $35.01 million, ultimately driving net assets to a concerning negative $4.49 million. Despite longstanding sponsorships, including Nike’s partnership since 1991, the organization’s financial future looks uncertain. Now, after the recent USATF Indoor Championships on February 24th, former athlete is speaking up.
