The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) is lauding as "fantastic" a new grant being made available to Olympians.
The grant is being introduced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the wake of criticism about a lack of funding of athletes.
The IOC says $US140 million ($A203 million) will be made available via $US10,000 ($A14,500) grants to individual athletes.
Olympians at summer and winter Games can apply for the grants after competing in an IOC move coming after it resisted growing calls to pay prize money.
"To be able to support the whole system is fantastic news and I congratulate the IOC on this financial contribution to athletes globally," Australian Olympic Committee president Ian Chesterman said in a statement.
Australia's Olympic chef de mission Anna Meares said the move would make athletes "not only feel valued but acknowledged for their efforts and contribution".
"This will impact thousands going forward and positively change lives beyond the podium," Meares said.
The IOC said the grants would first be open to nearly 2900 athletes who competed at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games.
They'll include Australian Winter Olympics stars like Cooper Woods, Josie Baff and Jakara Anthony, who struck gold in Milan-Cortina, but the money could be even more important for teammates who weren't as successful.
Around 11,000 athletes due to compete in 2028 at Los Angeles can also apply for grants, if they meet integrity criteria such as not testing positive for doping.
In Australia, athletes selected for an Olympics receive a $5000 payment for each Games they attend.
The AOC last December detailed what it described as its most significant athlete funding commitment, the creation of an Olympian Futures Fund and contributing $50 million to support Australia's Olympians.
The futures fund provides a retirement grant of $32,000 for each Olympic Games attended between Milan-Cortina and Brisbane's 2032 summer Games, to assist athletes post-career.
The fund also includes a $10,000 grant for female Olympians returning to competition after childbirth.
Australian athletes who medal at an Olympic Games, and who finish top four at a world championship or equivalent, also receive what is dubbed as athlete incentive funding.
That funding is $20,000 for finishing first, $15,000 for second, $10,000 for third and has been expanded to feature $5000 for fourth places in non-Olympic years.
The AOC said it also paid appearance fees to Australian Olympians who help delivering AOC programs and philanthropy events.
Under that structure, the AOC distributed $2.5 million to Australian Olympians between the Tokyo Games of 2011 and the 2024 Paris Olympics, with $800,000 paid in the current cycle between 2026-28.
