TRACK and field gold medallists at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer will each receive $50,000 (£39,400) in prize money.

World Athletics announced the $2.4m (£1.89m) prize pot this morning in a historic move which makes it the first international sport federation to award prize money at an Olympics.

The global governing body said the initiative also included a “firm commitment” to extend the prize money to silver and bronze medallists at the Los Angeles Games in four years’ time.