OP here.
I am just curious. Should have clarified that I am asking about athletes in the States.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op is your snowflake going to be an Olympian? How are those Gymboree classes going?

Kinda mean but it made me laugh. Hangs head down with slight smile no one can see.

Come on, it's a legitimate question, especially now that we're in an Olympic year. Most Olympians are not the pro basketball/tennis players who are already making millions.

Anonymous wrote:Op is your snowflake going to be an Olympian? How are those Gymboree classes going?

Kinda mean but it made me laugh. Hangs head down with slight smile no one can see.

many of them (especially in less compensated sports like shooting, rowing, equestrian, etc) come from very wealthy families.

Op is your snowflake going to be an Olympian? How are those Gymboree classes going?

Sponsors take care of all of their clothing and shoes. USOC takes care of equipment and such, sponsors do that too. Some food is taken care of. Lots of them have jobs that are flexible...they hardly put in any hours but get paid almost full time. The employers either want to just plain support and I think they like saying they have an olympian on staff. The home depot program was great for the athlete but they hardly worked. I worked for a particular team and those athletes that worked at home depot worked like ten hours a week...if that and got paid for like 30 hours. The community supports them too by putting them up on houseing sometimes for training. If you are at one of the USOC complexes in CO or CA there is full on housing and meals for those athletes..fully taken care of...but not all sports have facilities at those two locations.

Some of them are from rich families.

Many of them do it by living very frugally and working part time for a flexible employer. Some pull it off only because they have a spouse or other family who share the dream and help pay for the expenses. Don't be fooled into thinking it is free and paid for. There's only money in it if you win, and are telegenic.

For all I know 11:54 is right about what happens once you make it, but most of the years people spend training are as "olympic hopefuls" and in most cases, no one is funding their way.

Sponsorships, and anyone remember that Home Depot program they used to have?

Anonymous wrote:Are professional athletes allowed to compete in the Olympics?

Yes, hello, for about 20 years!

Are professional athletes allowed to compete in the Olympics?

I worked in the sports industry in my home country and it's a mix of private and public money.

Our Olympic team has one major sponsor (usually someone like Coca-Cola or Nike) and each sport has their own specific sponsor like Puma for soccer or Mikasa for volleyball.

Back there if you're a professional, the sport is your FT job so you're expected to clock certain hours, show up for events, etc. The clubs pay athletes a salary and some athletes get extra money from individual sponsorship.

DH has friends who are athletes in his home country (they play their national sport) and they were stunned to learn how it works for us in my country. Those poor guys have a FT job in addition to practice so it's a very hard life.

If the sport is popular and you play for a big club the athletes can make millions. If the sport is not popular (even playing for big clubs) the salary is not enough. A lot of our athletes who play the not so popular sports do have FT jobs on the side. Our last medalist in track n field used to wake up at 4am and run to work barefoot because she could not afford takin time off of work to practice and she had to save her equipment for training in the weekends and day of the competition.

Some countries have it sponsored by the government. As long as you are good enough to make the team, everything is free

If you are on the Olympic Team, the travel and housing cost are covered by the US Olympic Committee. The USOC buys their flights and they usually stay in a dorm like housing sharing a room with up to 4 athletes. They also get sponsorship so the companies cover the cost of the apparel/equipment.

Why are you asking?

If they train all day, how can Olympians or hopefuls afford housing, travel and other costs? Some people train for years.