Going for Gold: The Financial Hurdles Facing Olympic Athletes
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For the past two weeks, teams across the globe have been breaking records, all with the hopes of grabbing a spot on that podium and winning a medal for their country. But for most athletes, the road to the Olympics isn't cheap. A recent report on elite American athletes found that they were, on average, poorer for having competed, paying a net cost of about $12,000 per year after all the expenses and fees involved with their sport. So how do they make ends meet? Here's a special episode of Your Money Briefing for Sunday, August 11th. I'm J.R. Whelan for The Wall Street Journal. Today we're taking a look at the cost of training and competing at the Olympics. It's not all fame and glory. We'll hear from two medal holders about their financial journeys.
Ahead of that, let's check in with my colleague Joe Pinsker. He recently wrote a piece about the hefty price that comes with an athlete's Olympic journey. So Joe, you and your colleague Callum Borcher spoke to a handful of athletes for this story. Between training, traveling, and competing, what are some of the big expenses for Olympic athletes?
They need to get to a competition. They need to have lodging when they're there. They need to buy food. Sometimes these are covered by their teams, but sometimes they're putting up the expenses themselves. A little bit less intuitive or obvious is the cluster of other expenses that fall somewhere between athletic and everyday. People are buying groceries just like the rest of us, but in some cases they need to eat 10,000 calories a day and that's how many groceries they need to buy.
Your reporting is interesting because people probably assume that many of these athletes are doing really well financially. But is that not really the case?
Yeah, there are some big-name athletes who have a lot of money in the Olympics. But in fact, those high-profile athletes are kind of the outliers here. And there's a whole group of people who going to the Olympics can be some sort of financial sacrifice, whether that means... going into debt as they're trying to get there or putting their career on hold. There are all sorts of ways that it can be tough for the rest of the athletes that you'd see competing.
Where do some athletes get the financial support for all these expenses?
How much does it cost for athletes to pursue the Olympic dream?
So many of them get a monthly stipend from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee or the group that governs their individual sport. That's typically not enough to live off of, but many athletes also get sponsorships and can get a good amount of money from that. If those things don't come together, though, athletes who are in the Olympics or even especially those who are trying to get there... They have to look for other ways. Most often they are cobbling together a living in the time that they have around their training schedule. There are ways that people have to get creative with their money and time to make it happen if they don't have a big endorsement deal.
And if they're talented and lucky enough to win a medal, the medals themselves can come with cash prizes, right?
It varies from country to country. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee pays $37,500 for gold medals and $22,500 for silver medals and $15,000 for bronze medals. So it's not insignificant. It's maybe not going to completely undo all the other financial strains, but it certainly is a big help to a lot of people.
So how do these athletes make it work? We'll hear from them after the break.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–2:59
2
How much does it cost for athletes to pursue the Olympic dream?
2:59–7:56
3
What are the biggest everyday and hidden expenses Olympic athletes face?
7:56–10:18
4
Do most Olympians become financially secure after competing?
10:18–12:40
5
What funding sources and stipends help U.S. Olympians cover costs?
12:40–13:38
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from WSJ Your Money Briefing
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