I don't understand Olympic athletes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of the events are sports for the wealthy anyway.

This. You won't see any minority competitors for some events.

Esp the Equestrian events!

Wasn't the daughter of BET's CEO trying for the Olympics for equestrian events a few years back? Yup, money definitely helps where horses are involved.

Dominique Dawes' family still own a barber shop in Takoma Park. They have posters of her on the wall. She trained in Silver Spring/Wheaton, at least at the start.

I remember hearing that some athletes work for Fedex and UPS, who are very generous with leave and other support because they can run ads saying, "look at our athletes." Although I had heard that a while back, not sure if it's true this round.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand how the Olympics is supposed to be an amateur event but then people like Kobe Bryant can compete? So confused by that.

[Anonymous]

NPR has been running some really interesting stories about how poor and struggling a lot of Olympic athletes are. If you are one of the lucky few big names, then you get sponsored. If you are lucky enough to have a family sacrifice everything and a community to back you up, then you make it. But it seems from these stories that there is a very large contingent of athletes that spend 12 or so years of their lives in complete poverty scraping by.

Here's a CNN article on it:

http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/10/news/economy/olympic-athletes-financial/index.htm

And here's something about America's strongest woman and her financial struggles:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/the-strongest-woman-in-america-lives-in-poverty

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get that they are driven and want to be the best in the world. I get that they train every day and make sacrifices. I don't get how they are paid or pay for their trainers. Sponsors are one thing, but real cash is another. Wo are these gymnasts families that triple mortgage their homes so their child can continue training? There are only so many Pantene commercials to be made, right? Why not turn pro and earn a salary out of it? Can someone straighten me out?

Pro gymnasts? Most Olympic sports don't have professionals.

Some gymnasts go pro, but it's a better bet (usually) to stay amateur and get a college scholarship. There's not much money to be made by most gymnasts, and for most, their careers are over by the time they are college age.

And wouldn't most of us make sacrifices so that our child can reach their dream, whatever their dream might be?

..and their bodies are ravaged and growth stunted. It is like a circus acrobat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NPR has been running some really interesting stories about how poor and struggling a lot of Olympic athletes are. If you are one of the lucky few big names, then you get sponsored. If you are lucky enough to have a family sacrifice everything and a community to back you up, then you make it. But it seems from these stories that there is a very large contingent of athletes that spend 12 or so years of their lives in complete poverty scraping by.

Here's a CNN article on it:

http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/10/news/economy/olympic-athletes-financial/index.htm

And here's something about America's strongest woman and her financial struggles:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/the-strongest-woman-in-america-lives-in-poverty

If you are ugly --- even of you're great--- endorsements aren't there.

[Anonymous]

Home Depot is, or at least used to be, one of the companies that employs olympics-caliber athletes and gives them flexible schedules so they can train. That's how a lot of lesser-known athletes in less popular sports make do. I knew a guy who worked at Home Depot while he trained for the Sydney games. He had a less-than-f/t schedule and a wife who worked f/t.