# ‘Fair rewards are rare in our sport’: Hinze

*By Simon | March 14, 2025*

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![Emma Hinze Milton May 2022](https://globalkeirin.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/AW7_2013.jpg)

## 󠀁[‘Fair rewards are rare in our sport’: Hinze](https://globalkeirin.com/2025/03/fair-rewards-are-rare-in-our-sport-hinze/)󠁿

14 March 2025

[Emma Hinze](https://globalkeirin.com/rider/emma-hinze/) has become the latest
top-class sprinter to call out the startlingly low level of prize money on offer
in track cycling, even at the sport’s highest levels.

[Writing in the German edition of Sports Illustrated](https://www.sportsillustrated.de/frauen/mehr-sport/bahnradfahrerin-emma-hinze-287-euro-sind-zu-wenig-fuer-einen-em-titel)
, the eight-time world champion revealed just how much she had won for taking
gold in team sprint at last year’s UEC European Championships: just €287.03.

‘When you hear of professional athletes, you often think of luxury, wealth and
astronomical salaries,’ she writes. ‘Sure, there are disciplines in which the
protagonists earn a lot. The public interest and the corresponding market for
sports like football and tennis are huge. So there are good reasons why such
sums are paid.

‘But I want to draw attention to the reality of professional sport. Salaries in
the millions are definitely the exception. Being able to make a living from your
sport alone is wishful thinking for many.’

Hinze has the status of a ‘sports soldier’, within the sports programme of the
German Defence Ministry. She also receives support from other regional and
national funds.

‘A fair reward for success is rare, at least in our sport,’ she continues. ‘I
recently received my prize money for our gold medal in the team sprint at the
2024 European Championships. It was 287.03 euros. For a title that you’ve been
working towards for years. That is not what fair recognition of performance
looks like.

‘For a long time I simply accepted this situation. But now I want to draw
attention to these shortcomings. The financial challenges are not only a problem
for active athletes, but also a bad signal for future generations.’

Last year, [Nick Wammes](https://globalkeirin.com/rider/nick-wammes/) expressed
[similar sentiments](https://globalkeirin.com/2024/03/most-of-us-are-broke-canadian-sprint-star-lifts-the-lid-on-athlete-finances/)
, observing that ‘most athletes competing for Canada at the international level
are broke. It’s a very common misconception that all these athletes are very
well taken care of. I’m here to say that’s simply not the case.’

Hinze closes her column with a call for more ‘dual career’ opportunities
combining work and sport. But of course, another solution would be a transformed
economic model for the sport, such as that proposed by DerbyWheel.

Writing
[on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7305259595315269633/)
this week, DerbyWheel CEO **James Pope** again pointed to the potential of
betting revenue. ‘This is something Olympic and minority sports – especially
track cycling – need to embrace.

‘Betting is often treated as taboo, but the reality is that it’s an integral
part of sport. If managed correctly and responsibly, it can drive engagement,
boost visibility, and create sustainable revenue. Rather than resisting it,
sport stakeholders should take the lead in shaping how it’s implemented.’

**Categories:** Original