Is Being an Olympian an Odd Job?
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Can watching the Olympics be a job?
Probably.
Some people actually get paid to watch that all day long, like journalists who write about it and coaches who study it.
But what’s odd to think about isn’t who gets paid to watch the Olympics but how the athletes get paid who are in the Olympics.
Do Olympic Athletes Get Paid?
No.
Yes.
Sort of.
Here’s what I found:
Athletes from bigger, more competitive countries receive stipends or training grants from their national sports associations. Top performers collect prize money by winning national and international tournaments.
Some, like U.S. badminton player Zhang Beiwen, reportedly relied on crowdsourcing to finance their trip to Tokyo.
A handful of athletes may score multimillion dollar endorsements or sponsorship deals, either before competing at the Olympics or after achieving success in the Games.
Gold = $$$$$$$
If you win a medal, that’s a different story.
The U.S., for instance, is awarding $37,500 for each gold medal an athlete earns in Tokyo, plus $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze, on top of the grants and benefits like health insurance that it makes more widely available.
Those figures are up from $25,000, $15,000 and $10,000 at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Some countries pay more than others.
Here’s a list of countries that pay six-figures for a medal.
A Job That Makes You Broke?
The more I looked into this, the more I wondered this:
If you don’t get paid to be in the Olympics, who pays for you to get there?
Spoiler alert:
The athletes.
Some Olympians even go broke training for their sport, paying to enter competitions, hiring coaches, and more.
What an odd odd job.
Which is why SO many Olympians have full-time jobs.
Yes, they work full-time and they train for the Olympics (more on that tomorrow).
Surprised by this? Thought every athlete got paid?
Tell us what you think:
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