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The stakes for all these American skiers, skaters, snowboarders and sliders over the next 100 days couldn’t be more clear.
A chance for Olympic glory.
A chance to compete for a gold medal.
And this year, the chance to earn $100,000 for the first time.
Thanks to a recent record $100 million donation to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation, athletes who join U.S. Olympic or Paralympic teams starting in Milan-Cortina next year will be eligible to receive a $100,000 award when they retire.
This is a game-changing news for Olympic athletes, most of whom toil in obscurity after two weeks of the lights at the Games, and many of whom live in or near poverty: According to the foundation, about 57% of American athletes earn $50,000 or less per year.
“At age 25, 26, I was definitely like: ‘I can’t do this anymore (with my family). I can’t continue to live in my car. I have student loans. I have to move on with my life,'” said biathlete Deidra Irwin, who is now 33 and makes ends meet by doing everything from fostering a dog to joining the Vermont National Guard.
Although Wednesday marked the 100-day endpoint on the Olympic calendar, only a small slice of the roughly 225 Olympic and 65 Paralympic spots are up for grabs. team usa In Italy has been discontinued.
Most of those spots will be earned based on athletes’ performances in upcoming World Cup events to be held around the world in the next few months.
So, while many of these athletes have heard stories of how the Olympics could change their lives – usually through sponsorships, speaking engagements and talk-show appearances resulting from inspirational performances – never before has the promise of hard cash been promised like this.
“As an athlete, you don’t put into a 401K,” said Paralympian Oksana Masters. “We don’t have the traditional jobs to pay in that kind of thing. Now is the time for us to do that.”
There are a few catches, the biggest of which is that the money will be divided into four payments and won’t go into bank accounts until 20 years after the athletes retire, or when they turn 45 — whichever is later. (The math is of interest to snowboarder Nick Baumgartner, who turns 44 next year and hopes to further his career salt Lake City in 2034)
This grant also funds a $100,000 life insurance policy for one beneficiary.
Both prizes and insurance are earned each time an athlete competes in the Olympics, for example, someone who makes it to the Olympics three times will receive $600,000 in total profits.
“We have received other transformative gifts, but this one has transformed how we can provide holistic care for our athletes,” said USOPF President Christine Walshe.
$100 million came from founder Ross Stevens ceo Stone Ridge Holdings Group, a finance firm that focuses on “non-traditional” investment options like crypto and fine art.
It was the largest single donation to the USOPF, which began operations in 2013 – it was the brainchild of former Olympic leader Peter Ueberroth, who helped turn the Olympics into a money-maker, partly out of necessity because the US government does not fund its Olympic athletes.
To account for most of the next decade’s TV and sponsorship dollars, the foundation will need to bankroll improved athlete benefits for the foreseeable future. Walshe said the charitable arm’s contribution is estimated to be 27% USOPCRevenue in this Olympic cycle compared to 12% from 2021-24.
The Foundation’s contributions are directed toward athlete-focused programs that focus on performance and innovation, health and wellness, and career placement and economic mobility. Never before has a stake in economic mobility seemed so simple: Make the Olympics, get $100,000.
Cross-country skier Gus Schumacher said, “The $100,000 definitely motivates all of us to make that team.” “Cross-country generally isn’t a lot of money, and $100,000, especially for guys who are maybe on the fringes of the team, is going to be a lot.”
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics