Every four years, there is a two-week period in the hot month of August where millions of people cheer on their respective countries in the Summer Olympic Games. In America the television broadcasts are dominated by track and field and swimming. One man has become a household name through his years of Olympic success. Michael Phelps, US men’s swimming, is the most decorated Olympian of all-time with 28 total medals, 23 of which are gold (Yomtov, USA Today). Phelps earned millions of dollars and gained numerous sponsors throughout his career. An athlete of his magnitude only comes around once in a lifetime, and for the Olympic games, his wealth and success is very rare. Michael Phelps was able to commit his entire life to one sport, able to train every day and perfect every inch of his aquatic strokes. However, throughout his career, there are dark shadows in his life outside of the sport that nearly forced him away from swimming altogether. When Phelps was nineteen, he was charged with his first DUI. Years later in 2009, he was suspended by USA Swimming for smoking marijuana, and in 2014, Phelps was pulled over going 84 in a 45 while under the influence of alcohol. These were only surface issues that Phelps and his family dealt with in his life. They stemmed from his early wealth and success as well as a rocky relationship with his father growing up, according to interviews with Phelps’ family and friends (Layden, Sports Illustrated). The fact of the matter is that Michael Phelps is not the only Olympian that faces struggles during their Olympic careers. He was fortunate enough to find success as an Olympian. The odds of being successful in the Olympics are extremely low. There is a constant struggle for Olympic athletes that make the idea of changing the ways of athlete treatment and opportunities not so far fetched. Today’s Olympic culture leaves its athletes combatting an unfair cycle that can be overcame through recognizing and changing the financial, physical, and mental aspects of training to be an Olympian. 

In a sports world where athletes are signing record break deals every year for hundreds of millions of dollars, Olympic athletes are astoundingly underpaid. It seems quite obvious that a professional athlete who is on the big stage throughout most of the year deserves more money than the athlete competing in an obscure sport such as speed skating or pole vaulting. However, the pay gap is not even close. There are reports of many Olympic athletes filing for bankruptcy or requesting food stamps and going on welfare. The USA Speed Skating team was interviewed in a short news special on their financial struggles. It was reported that the Olympic Committee provided stipends for the athletes ranging from $1500-$600 a month (KUTV2 News). Considering these athletes train throughout most of the day, every single day, to become the best at their sport, there is little time for these athletes to make money on their own. The financial issues of Olympic athletes do not start with the athletes. Olympians start their training at a very young age. It is not known that these children will be Olympians, but there is a certain point where it becomes apparent that these athletes have what it takes to be the best at their respective sports. In a Huffington Post article, former Olympic speed skater, Eric Flaim and US Judo competitor, Rick Hawn, were interviewed about their finances during their Olympic careers. Flaim stated that his family must have spent at least $250,000 on his training and gear alone while his award money over a long career added up to about $75,000. It seems to be all worth it for Flaim because he saw success during his career, but for Rick Hawn, this was not the case. Hawn received nearly no money during his Olympic career, and his parents almost went bankrupt trying to get him to the top as well as raising five younger children (Passy, Huffington Post). The struggle and risk of becoming an Olympic athlete does not end with financial struggles. Athletes run a high risk of injury, and imagine these athletes having to pay for an expensive surgery to stay on their Olympic path. 

The physical aspects of being an Olympian are obvious. Athletes on the Olympic stage devote their lives to developing their bodies into the perfect specimens for their sport. When observing different athletes, viewers can tell the body type that is ideal for each sport. The ideal swimmer is tall and lean with a long torso and broad shoulders. Sprinters are gifted with outstanding strength in their legs and rapid muscle movement. And, gymnasts are generally smaller with outstanding core strength and little to no body fat. In The Sports Gene by David Epstein, the idea is pondered that there is a certain DNA makeup that creates elite athletes. In chapter two of the best seller, Epstein tells the true tale of two high jumpers. Stefan Holm was a world-class high jumper that dominated the sport with his laser-focus for over a decade. At only 5’11”, Holm relied on his precise training and routine to beat opponents. The second high jumper was Donald Thomas of the Bahamas. Thomas was the opposite of Holm. He was inexperienced, having only trained for eight months, yet Holm and Thomas went head to head in the 2007 world championship. “The guy in pole vault shoes who thinks high jump is ‘kind of boring’ was crowned the 2007 world champion. On his winning jump, Thomas had raised his center of mass to 8’2”. Had he any semblance of the back arch that every other pro jumper does, he would have shattered the world record” (Epstein, 32). 

Natural advantages of some athletes over others do not mean that those athletes are untouchable. People continue to break records and come back better for every Olympic game. The physical standards have been set so high that it is tempting for athletes to tarnish their training by altering their physicality in unhealthy ways. In 1998, a study was conducted on 40 junior figure skaters at the top of their sport. The experiment showed that despite being satisfied with their appearance and body, the young figure skaters were dieting at an unhealthy rate. The competitiveness was so high that the athletes were going beyond their limits to try and be the best (Ziegler and Khoo, International Journal of Eating Disorders). On the other side of the spectrum, athletes across all sports have been found to use Steroids to enhance their strength and endurance in a way that is not only unfair to the rest of the competition, but it is also illegal. The problems with physicality in training for the Olympics are directly tied to the mental stress that comes with being an elite athlete. 

There is a theory that athletes perform at their best with a certain level of anxiety. “Differences in anxiety have been reported as a result of sport type, gender, trait anxiety, experience, perceived ability, perceived readiness, parental influence, and prematch expectancy” (Hall and Kerr, 99). Trait anxiety is how one deals with unease or stress. This varies from gender to gender as well as through sport type. For a track sprinter, all of the athlete’s stress is built into the moments right before the race. How they deal with that stress can directly affect the result of their race. Perceived ability, readiness, and prematch expectancy stem from experience and parental influence. For Olympic athletes, experience is relative because most athletes have been training for years. The ability to recognize each situation affects how the athlete will see the result before they even compete. The studies of Hall and Kerr show that the right balance of confidence and stress result in typically better athletic performances (Hall and Kerr, 100). Athletes need to find the right motivational climate for their mental buildup. In today’s Olympic culture, it is expected that every athlete go through hours of training every day. For many, this is necessary for the best success, but some athletes can find themselves washed out or sick of their sport. Even Michael Phelps went through stages where he did not want to swim and his trainer could not get him to stay at practice (Layden, Sports Illustrated).

There is an unbelievable pride that comes with competing in the Olympic games. Athletes are filled with joy just to be in the Olympic park competing against the best athletes in the world. It is no small feat the get to the Olympics even if an athlete doesn’t win anything. Yet, with the struggle of training, the worth of that joy and pride can be brought into question. However, the struggle of these Olympic athletes is all relative. In a NBC article, Michael Hiestand interviews athletes participating in the Paralympics. These athletes have added layers of problems such as paralysis or birth defects. The Paralympics give these athletes the opportunity to compete at their highest level and be the best that they can be. Hiestand emphasizes in the article that the relative level of competition, joy, and pride of the Paralympics is no different than that of the Olympics (Hiestand, NBC Olympics). While the pride and joy in competing in the Olympics is still as strong as ever, the purity of the games is wavering. It is the unfair cycle of low financing, high physical expectations, and mental distress that are affecting these athletes who are trying to become successful Olympians. 

The question arises, how do we fix today’s Olympic culture? The obvious answers would be to pay athletes a fair wage, regulate youth training and monitor dieting behaviors, and create a balanced environment with positive motivation and constructive criticism for these developing athletes. The Olympic committee has been working to find athletes jobs. Patrick Meek of the USA speed skating team was interviewed about how he pays his bills as well as training three times a day. The stipend he receives is not nearly enough to pay his bills, so the Olympic Committee set him up with a job as a valet where he can work between training. Although it is a very busy lifestyle, Meek understands that it is what he needs to do in order to be ready for the Olympics (KUTV2 News). This minor solution makes it possible for some Olympians to find jobs and stay afloat. A better solution would be government funding for the expensive training of Olympic athletes. The job help only benefits those athletes who are able to work where as many athletes training to become Olympians are training at a younger age. Government funding would save families thousands of dollars and relieve them of years of stress. The Olympic committee is also discussing tax breaks for their athletes (Passy, Huffington Post). These solutions are real and not as far fetched as paying each athlete like an NBA star. 

Training for the Olympics is always going to be a strenuous process due to the fact that there are athletes around the world using their own methods of training to be the best. Issues like dieting behaviors, eating disorders, and temptations to use PEDs can all be fixed with the right trainers and outside influences on each athlete. A matter of finding the correct nutritionist and using a combination of conditioning, strength training, and flexibility sets the foundation for the best possible physical outcome. A nutritionist is important not only to make sure the athletes are eating enough, but also it is important in educating these young athletes on the long-term affects of maintaining good health. These long-term affects include health after they are finished with their Olympic career. These physical problems often stem from athletes chasing the best of the best, the naturals. Take Donald Thomas, the high jumper, back into an example. He effortlessly beat Stefan Holm in the World Championship with only eight months of training. Stefan Holm’s coach is his father who was furious by the result calling Thomas a clown. Holm had a realization that there would always be someone with the better natural ability to win his or her sport. Holm never beat Thomas, but instead of giving in on his realization, he and his father continued to coach the perfect technique and mental approach to the sport. Imagine the ceiling that Donald Thomas could have broken through had he exercised the fundamentals matching that of Stefan Holm (Epstein, 33). 

Everyone deals with stress differently. The best way to learn how to deal with stress in sports is through experience. However, even then, for some athletes, anxiety leading up to a competition never quite goes away. Teaching athletes at a young age how to approach their event, how to perceive their own ability, and how to deal with winning and losing benefits them later on as they pursue their Olympic dreams. Balance is key for potential Olympic athletes, not only with anxiety and motivation, but also with life. For years, these athletes are training non-stop, and in some cases, their social lives are completely altered by this. Many athletes are put into home school and do not have regular childhoods. Many athletes do not fully experience socializing with their peers. All of their social isolation is during the developmental years of their life. Many people’s real world from teen years through their twenties consist of school, friends, and a job. So, when these Olympic athletes are finished with their careers as world-class athletes, they are not sure how to deal with the real world. This is a huge reason why Michael Phelps ran into so much legal trouble throughout the years between Olympic games. That is why balance of education, social life, and training is important for athletes in the long run. 

By now it should be apparent that the financial, physical, and mental issues that come with becoming an Olympian are very much connected. It starts with funding for training. Once athletes and their families do not have to worry so much about paying the thousands of dollars it takes to hire trainers and buy gear throughout the years, the athletes can focus on mastering their physical health. This is due to the fact that the nutritionists and top trainers can be provided so that the athletes are doing everything correctly. Then, with the right trainers and influence, athletes will be able to find their balance of anxiety and motivation. The mental struggle of becoming an Olympian is a case-by-case issue because everyone thinks differently and comes from different backgrounds. Finding the balance between education, social life, and training comes down to individual preference, but is made easier when the finances and potential physical issues are taken care of. The Olympic culture today is a cutthroat environment, and it should be considering the difficulty of becoming an Olympian. However, keeping the pride and joy that is so vibrant in the sports world is crucial for the Olympics to stay popular. If the Olympic committee cannot find ways to take care of their athletes, the cycle of issues will continue to grow and Olympic controversy such as drug use or problems with former athletes may continue to worsen. The change starts with the youth athletes today, leading to a change in the Junior Olympics, and finally a fair and manageable life for summer and winter Olympians.
