The Hard Truth About Being An Olympian

To outsiders, being an Olympic athlete might seem like just another way of living the rock star lifestyle. Competitors in the Olympics are among the greatest in the world at their chosen sports, competing in games that capture the attention of millions. It seems like a life of fame and fortune — but in reality, it's neither, and it's often not very fun.

Olympic athletes face a surprising amount of struggles, both with their finances and their mental health — even the most famous ones whose names you may know. For most Olympians, the quest for athletic greatness is a lonely, low-paying painful one, which makes you wonder how they can stay so driven to succeed. This is the hard truth about being an Olympian.

#Olympian #Olympics #Athletes

Bills to pay | 0:18
No ticket to riches | 1:33
Back to school | 2:38
Sick and injured | 3:49
Disease danger | 5:12
Steroid false-positives | 6:15
Depression | 7:21
So easy to forget | 8:22
Lonely and isolated | 9:29
Body image issues | 10:28
Not so free speech | 11:13

[amandabrown]

My cousin is at the Olympics right now!! He is a champion wrestler. He is also in the Marines, so they apid for most of it. Go Johnny!!

[winnmiller]

Wishing ALL the Olympic athletes ALL the BEST.

Both on and OFF the playing field...😊😇🤩.

[molove]

Almost everything in life comes with some kind of stress however I believe athletes in the Olympics and elsewhere should be compensated better. It’s a shame how much money Olympics make overall but don’t give these athletes a better income for all the sacrifices they make.

[karlcooper]

"All that glitters isn't always gold".

[drmchillchristianbeats]

Being an Olympic athlete is extremely stressful. But nothing in life isn't somewhat stressful, we just choose what's worth stressing out a little for

[tobiojo]

Being an Olympian isn't what it's cracked up to be.

[petergeyer]

This is a tough path to follow. From a professional standpoint, there is a certain cachet that goes with being a former Olympian which may help lend credibility as somebody who can set high goals and achieve them. But all of these are 100% spot on.

[tchyard]

So you’re saying the best of the best athletes don’t make a dime. Raise awareness yall

[bigj]

So basically the Olympics make money off of hard working athletes

[ВикторМорев-вы]

6 USA🇺🇸, The Olympic Games took place in the United States of America.

1960 Squaw Valley Olympics. - Victory of Russian Athletes in the overall medal standings.

1980 Lake Placid Olympics. - Victory of Russian Athletes in the overall medal standings.

The 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, USA. The Best Athletes of those games - Evgeny Grishin. won two (2) individual Gold medals. and Lidia Skoblikova also won two (2) individual Gold medals.

The 1996 Summer Olympics, held in the United States, in Atlanta. The Best Athlete of those games - Alexey Nemov. won five (5) Individual medals, and one (1) team medal. and in Men's Swimming at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Alexander Popov became the Best Athlete.

[crazymonkee]

Instead of all the negative things about becoming an Olympian, let's look at the positive ones instead.

[MrTrack]

Track & Field athletes are professionals. Some make money. All need sponsorship to keep training or must work. That is true. But some become quite wealthy.

[resilientmusicfilm]

That's why it's NOT about the money but the PATRIOTISM to represent your country 🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲

[HieuChiLe]

I am very impressed with that split screen editing.

[teddyl]

Imagine a world where the Olympics is a place for the athletes to protest. It would suddenly become a political ghetto where every athlete would be talking about everything but the games. Russia's organized exclusion from the Olympics is one of the most political statements I've ever seen. Allow the athletes to compete, but not under the Russian flag--this is an absolute confused and muddled message. I can't even imagine how corrupt the Olympic organizing committee is even after they tried to clean it up. Everyone associated with the Olympics gets to profit except for the athletes.

[phalynwilliams]

It is the life they chose and all aspects of live can be stressful whether you are an Olympian or not. It is more stressful and depressing if you fail at the Olympic trials.

[karlcooper]

Why would you want to represent a country that you hate anyway?

[jamesandrews]

"Buzzfeed reports...." there goes any credibility whatsoever.

[hostilemgtow]

If all of this is truly accurate, it kinda makes you wonder how all of this hasn't been exposed before already 🤔 😐.

[CaptainMarvelsSon]

There is a point and purpose to the rules' consistency through the years--even those that you do not like. Don't like them? Don't compete instead of damning everything go your way instead of the way of those in charge.