Boxing federation to pay bonuses for Olympic medals

LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The International Boxing Association (IBA) said on Wednesday it would follow the example of track and field's global federation by paying prize money for medals at the Paris Olympics.

The IBA has made the move despite the fact that the boxing program at the Paris Games will be run by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after the federation was stripped of the role because of concerns about its financial transparency.

The IBA, which is backed by Russian gas giant Gazprom, is going further than World Athletics, which is paying $50,000 to gold medalists, but nothing to the minor medalists at this year's Games.

The IBA says it will pay gold, silver and bronze medalists bonuses from a total budget of $3.1 million.

World Athletics' move has attracted criticism from other federations and IOC president Thomas Bach has distanced himself from the move.

In an interview with AFP in April, Bach said: "The international federations have to treat all their member federations and their athletes on an equal basis and to try to balance this gap between the privileged and the less or under-privileged."