Trondheim: As a reward for finishing first in qualifying at a ski jumping World Cup event, organisers presented the male winner Jan Hearl with 3,000 Swiss francs ($3,290), and the female winner Selina Freitag with towels and shampoo.
“I received a partner bag with shower gel and shampoo and four hand towels,” Freitag told German TV channel BR24 after she finished first in qualifying at the Two Nights Tournament in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on December 30. “We unfortunately didn’t have a spare five hundred (euros) or so.”
Skiing’s governing body, FIS, told CNN that female winners of qualifying events don’t receive prize money like their male counterparts, according to a CNN report.
They said the gift also included a voucher for a weekend of wellness treatments and “was certainly well intentioned, but it is understandable that it may have generated frustration and given a bad impression if seen as formal compensation for the victory. This was not the case.”
FIS added that women’s ski jumping is still a relatively new sport with less spectator interest and marketing revenues than its male counterpart, and consequently has less prize money available. CNN has contacted the event organiser for comment too.
The discrepancy in prize money available “highlights the inequalities that still exist in sport in sport to this day,” Her Sport, an advocacy group for gender equality in sport, posted on X.
“We often hear the argument that it comes down to revenue generation, but … revenue doesn’t grow in a vacuum,” the group added. “It starts with investment & commitment to bridging the gap.”
The event was eventually won by Slovenia’s Nika Prevc, who collected 4,300 Swiss francs ($4,700) in prize money. Austria’s Daniel Tschofenig, who won the men’s competition, scooped 13,000 Swiss francs ($14,240) in prize money.