The Tokyo Olympics are over, but some athletes are not idle, but have picked up a second identity and started a "nine-to-five" life.
One example is 24-year-old American track and field athlete Gabby Thomas. The Tokyo Olympics was Thomas's first Olympics, and she not only won a silver medal in the women's 4 x 200 relay for the United States, but also a bronze medal in the women's 200 meters.
American track and field athlete Gabby Thomas
But Thomas, who is also a scholar who earned a master's degree in epidemiology from Harvard, dreams of working in the health care sector to eliminate inequalities in health care and, in her words, "save the world."
Thomas' second status outside of Sport is out of dreams and interests, but some Olympians have a second career just to help them pay their bills.
A survey last year showed that 60 percent of Olympians around the world believe their finances are not in a stable position, and U.S. athletes are probably one of the worst. The United States is also one of the few major major countries whose governments do not provide financial guarantees for Olympic teams.
Team USA's top athletes in popular sports like gymnastics and basketball can make millions of dollars from sponsorships, such as swimmer Katie Ledecky, who made $7 million by endorsing swimsuit brand Tyr. But more American Olympians are struggling to make ends meet on stipends, bonuses and part-time jobs.
Even if they won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, the athletes of the American team would only receive $37,500 in prize money, the silver medalist would receive $22,500, and the bronze medalist would receive only a measly $15,000 prize money. Many U.S. athletes don't get medals at the Olympics, and the cost of their annual training can cost $100,000. Since the state does not pay the bill, it is up to the athletes to find their own way to make up money.
The second career of the contestants is also diverse, taking the American athletes who participated in the Tokyo Olympics as an example: the female fencer Jackie Dubrovich works in the NASDAQ-listed marketing company criteo, working in media strategy; rower Grace Luczak has been working on internal mergers and acquisitions at the world's prestigious accounting firm Ernst & Young since the Rio Olympics. Before the Tokyo Olympics, she jumped to a rowing startup, Hydrow; the part-time job of the beautiful race walker Robyn Stevens was more literary, and her second identity was model and designer.
Race walker Robin Stevens works part-time as a model
Javelin Ariana Ince, a graduated civil engineering graduate from Rice University, is not only an engineering student but also a "hit worker," and is now the founder of M-Erg, a Houston-based ergonomic consulting firm designed to help organizations provide a more ergonomic office environment for their employees.
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