An Olympic ski jumper revealed she received shower gel and towels as prizes, while her male counterpart earned $3,200.
In a recent ski-jumping event, Olympic athlete Selina Freitag shed light on the stark differences in prizes awarded to male and female competitors.
Selina, a 23-year-old German athlete, took first place in the women’s qualifying round of the FIS World Cup Ski Jumping event held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.
However, her reward was far from what her male counterpart received.
Olympic female ski jumper claims she received shower gel and towels after winning while male rival got $3,2K
While Selina celebrated her victory, she was surprised to find that her prize consisted of a partner bag containing shower gel, shampoo, and four hand towels.
In contrast, Jan Hoerl, the winner of the men’s qualifying round, received a cash prize of 3,000 Swiss Francs, which is approximately $3,200.
This significant difference in rewards sparked discussions online about gender inequality in sports.
Selina expressed her feelings in an interview with German television.
She remarked on the situation, saying, “It’s like, ‘Here, we unfortunately didn’t have 500 euros left over.’”
Although she did not want to complain too much, she pointed out the evident discrepancies between the prizes for men and women.
The lack of monetary rewards for female winners is a recurring issue in various sports, raising questions about fairness and equality.
FIS responded to the claims
The governing body for skiing, FIS, confirmed that winners of the women’s qualifying events do not receive prize money, whereas men’s winners do.
This policy shows the ongoing debate over the value of women’s sports versus men’s.
The FIS said Selina’s gift was a gesture, not reflective of her achievement.
In response to the situation, FIS acknowledged the frustration caused by the disparity in prizes.
They noted lower interest in women’s ski jumping impacts revenue and prize money.
However, this reasoning did not sit well with many fans and advocates for gender equality in sports.
Her Sport advocates for gender equality.
A media platform called Her Sport took to social media to voice their concerns about the treatment of female athletes.
They stressed it’s unfair for top female athletes to get minimal prizes while males earn significant cash rewards.
They expressed that Selina’s achievement deserved recognition that matched her effort and skill.
“Thirty-six years later and we are still seeing ridiculous differences in prize money such as this one.
Selina’s achievement deserves to be celebrated with the same respect and rewards as her male counterparts.”
Imagine qualifying at a top-tier sports competition and walking away with… shampoo and towels while your male colleagues who did the exact same job…leave with €3,200 in cash prize money. 🧵1/6
(Video Credit: @br24wintersport and @dwnews) pic.twitter.com/mKihXoRqNQ
— Her Sport (@HerSportDotIE) January 14, 2025