Canadian steel frame snowmobile athletes shelled: participation in the Winter Olympics to pay out of their own pockets
Milela Rahneva, a skeleton rider from Ottawa, Canada, recently posted:
Although he represented Canada in the Beijing Winter Olympics, he had to pay for airfare, accommodation, car rental and even participation costs.
"In this important year, we don't see a penny of support."
She also angrily shelled that where had all the federal funds received by the Canadian national team been spent?!
According to CBC, CTV and other media reports, at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Rahneva ranked 5th in the women's steel frame snowmobile event, although it did not qualify for the podium, but this is the best result of the Canadian team in the previous Winter Olympics.
However, for all this, the 33-year-old veteran paid a high price.
Rahneva, a Bulgarian-born athlete, now receives $14,000 a year from the Canadian Federal Government's Athlete Grant Program.
However, she has spent $26,585 to compete this season.
Rahneva also tweeted an electronic list of spending this season. Some of those fees are paid by credit card, some with a savings card, and some are donations from here and there, she said.
"Basically, it was my family and friends who were funding me."
Rahneva says she also has a GoFundMe crowdfunding page.
In a telephone interview with CSA, Rahneva said many Canadian athletes are in a difficult situation and that they are suffering from both financial and psychological difficulties in order to compete.
Several athletes of the Canadian national team have said that they lack financial support for the sports they participate in.
