For many American Olympic athletes, going for gold can also mean go bankrupt While spending thousands of dollars for elite coaching and equipment while giving up a job to train 24 hours a day. The athletes have pointed out Rely on food couponsaccumulating credit card debt and Use crowdfunding To reach the games.
On Wednesday, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced a new financial assistance program for all American team athletes – a Retirement services of $ 100,000 For each Olympic Games in which they participate.
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This program seeks to meet the financial challenges with which the athletes are faced, which “led a lot to choose between leaving their sports to find a full -time work or continue to train and contribute while fighting poverty or financial insecurity”, according to a 2024 report by the State Commission of the Olympic Games and the American Paralympic Games.
While some of the famous athletes make millions of sponsorship transactions, many Team USA members struggle to reach both ends.
As part of the new program, athletes will be eligible to start receiving their pension payments $ 100,000 20 years after the matches in which they have contributed or when they are 45 years old, according to the later. The advantages are added to several Olympic Games, which means that the athletes who participated in three games, for example, would receive $ 300,000 in the program. The services will be paid over a four -year period.
Due to the delay of two decades in payments, these advantages will not end the financial difficulties of athletes during their training. However, they will help provide a safety net for the end of the athletes' Olympic careers.
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The president of the USOPC, Gene Sykes, described the program as a springboard that will propel these athletes to even larger heights beyond their Olympic and Paralympic career “.
Ross Stevens, a supporter of Team USA and founder and chief executive officer of Stone Ridge Holdings Group, has provided a donation of $ 100 million – the most important in the history of the USOPC – to establish the Stevens Financial Security Awards, who will provide retirement services to athletes.
“I do not believe that financial insecurity should prevent the elite athletes from our country from breaking into new borders of excellence,” Stevens said in a statement.
The Stevens Financial Security Awards will start with the athletes who participate in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Milano Cortina 2026 and continue at least during the 2032 Games, in order to become a permanent program.
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In addition to retirement services of $ 100,000, athletes will gain in each Olympic Games in which they will participate, they will also accumulate $ 100,000 in life insurance services, bringing the package of total financial advantages to $ 200,000 per games. Life insurance services will be distributed to the family of athletes or to the beneficiaries chosen on their death.
The United States is one of the only countries not to finance the government to its Olympic athletes.
Instead, the USOPC, the National Director of Director responsible for supporting and supervising the United States team, is responsible for providing financial support to athletes in the form of allowances, grants and health insurance. They also provide direct payments of $ 37,500 for gold medals, $ 22,500 for money and $ 15,000 for bronze.
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The USOPC operates entirely on private donations and sponsorships. For many athletes, this financial assistance is not enough to support them during training, according to the 2024 report.
The report highlights the experience of the short -track Olympic skater Emily ScottWho had difficulty fendants on food coupons and part -time job in a surgery supply plant after its USOPC monthly allowance was reduced from $ 1,950 to $ 600 per month.
“The last thing you want to worry in a year like this is being able to pay your rent and eat, and you want to eat healthy”, she Tell USA TODAY In 2013. It was quite difficult. … But I am not the only one to suffer.
The report underlines that financial challenges can be amplified for paralympic athletes, which “are often faced with much higher costs for specialized training and suitable sports equipment. … Sports prostheses and adaptive equipment can cost thousands of dollars and are rarely covered by health insurance”.
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Many athletes are counting on donations to go to games. For the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the hopes of the American team have raised more than a million dollars on GoFundme, according to Reports by USA Today.
Sponsorships are also a significant source of funding for Team USA members.
However, only the higher level of famous athletes – such as Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps – is able to obtain business sponsorships that provide millions of dollars.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
