JAAF Publishes 2019 Doha World Championships Medal Bonuses, "Looking Positively" at Hosting 2019 World Relays

The  JAAF Board of Directors met Sept 27 to set the bonus structure for medals at the 2019 Doha World Championships. Athletes who place on the podium will be well-rewarded, with a gold medal earning 10,000,000 yen [~$88,000 USD], a silver medal 5,000,000 yen [~$44,000} and a bronze 4,000,000 yen [~$35,000].

Top eight finishes will also be recognized. 4th place will be worth 1,500,000 yen [~$13,000], 5th and 6th place 1,000,000 yen [~$9,000], and 7th and 8th place 800,000 yen [~$7,000]. For relay events the payout will be half the amount for individual events, will all team members who competed in the qualifying rounds and finals eligible for remuneration.

At the 2013 Moscow World Championships the gold medal bonus was 4,000,000 yen. It was increased to the current amount for the 2015 Beijing World Championships and remained at that level for last year's London World Championships.

Following the Board meeting, chairperson Hiroshi Yokokawa also talked to the media about the status of the May, 2019 World Relays, currently in limbo after original host the Bahamas announced it would be unable to stage the international event. Regarding whether Japan may serve as the replacement host Yokokawa commented, "We don't know if we want to get into a situation of trying to snatch it away from another country, but if the natural flow of events brings it our way then I think we would view the idea positively."

According to an involved party, the IAAF currently views Japan, China and Jamaica as the most likely candidates to replace the Bahamas in hosting the World Relays. Reports in the international media say that Jamaica is likely to withdraw from contention.

source articles:
https://mainichi.jp/articles/20180922/k00/00m/050/104000c
https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/201809280000189.html
translated and edited by Brett Larner