没有举国体制，大多数奥运选手靠什么谋生？

来自全球11000多名运动员日前齐聚巴西里约热内卢，希望在奥运会上为国争光。然而只有少数人能实现梦想——更糟的是，甚至有人会在这期间破产。

历史上，美国并没有给其运动员提供大规模资金支持的传统。根据美国运动员信托2013年研究报告，美国奥委会为2012伦敦奥运会准备的总预算为接近8亿美元，其中只有10.3%即大约8100万美元用于对运动员的直接资助，运动员津贴、医疗福利、助学金等开销均包含在内。

即便获得奥运奖牌，运动员也并非有丰厚回报。美国奥委会对获奖运动员的奖励为：金牌25000美元、银牌15000美元、铜牌10000美元，然而能够夺牌的几率并不高：530名参加2012伦敦奥运会的美国运动员最后获得的总奖牌数为103。

人们通常会误以为奥运选手都能从代言和赞助中获益。没错，像迈克尔·菲尔普斯和西蒙·拜尔斯这样的奥运巨星确实能够从合约中获得诱人收入，但很多运动项目（尤其是媒体关注度不高和转播较少的项目）并不能带来很好的回报，即便是该项目的顶尖选手也一样。

也就是说，为了逐梦奥运，很多体育明星光是想办法支付各项基本开销就够艰难了，更别说往返里约的费用，他们一边要进行高强度的训练和比赛，一边要投身全职或几份兼职工作并做好平衡。在北京奥运会上获得奖牌，今年再次参加里约奥运会的美国跨栏选手克伦·克莱蒙就以模特和演员为职业，2011年，他还曾出演过碧昂斯金曲Run the World (Girls)的MTV。据美国射击公司消息，参加过6届奥运的射击选手埃米尔·米列夫平日里是美国坦帕一所小学的体育老师。

自行车选手马拉·阿伯特也是如此，赛道上她踩着踏板高速驰骋，而在家乡科罗拉多州波尔德，她是当地一家农场的工作人员。在那里她每周上两天班，每班6小时。此外，她还是瑜伽教练，也在当地报纸《每日镜像》上发表专栏文章，表达她从对自行车的热爱到当地政治等各种观点。

她说，在训练和各种兼职工作中保持平衡，并不比找一份能够迁就她训练日程的全职工作要难，“要想找到一份能够允许你出差，而且离开时间那么长的工作确实有点困难。”

阿伯特参加里约奥运会的费用是由自行车运动的监管机构美国自行车及美国奥委会提供的，但并非所有前去里约的奥运选手都能获得全额资助。

尼克·德尔波波洛是今年奥运会的一名柔道选手，他表示自己正尝试利用其体育特长来获得一些收入，目前他在全国各地进行柔道教学，每天轮班开讲，每班2小时。不训练时，他也通过其他兼职工作来赚取额外收入，比如在服装店打工、修剪草坪、儿童看护、园林绿化、冬季街道铲雪等等。

美国柔道是德尔波波洛所从事的柔道运动的监管机构，虽然该机构为训练和比赛提供部分资助，但美国奥委会今年却没有为德尔波波洛提供津贴。为了筹措资金，德尔波波洛在自己的个人网站上建立了paypal链接，希望有人为他的体育事业提供捐助。

至于如何平衡好训练和兼职工作，德尔波波洛说，“目前几乎是无法做到的”。

但也有运动员更愿意通过兼职工作来更好地平衡紧张的训练生活。阿伯特说，“白天可以用更多时间来训练”，“我的工作都是我喜欢做的事情，也能帮助我更好地平衡生活并成为一个持久发展的运动员。”（财富中文网）

译者：Donna

审校：夏林

More than 11,000 athletes from around the world have descended on Rio de Janeiro, hoping to take home Olympic glory for their home countries. Unfortunately, only a handful will achieve those dreams—and what’s worse, some might go bankrupt in the process.

Historically, the United States doesn’t spend a ton on its athletes. For the 2012 Olympic Games in London, for example, the U.S. Olympic Committee had an expense budget of nearly $800 million, of which just 10.3%—or roughly $81 million—directly supported the athletes, according to a 2013 study from U.S. Athletic Trust. That includes stipends, medical benefits, and tuition assistance, among other perks.

Even if they win an Olympic medal, athletes aren’t guaranteed a rich payday. The USOC awards team members a bonus for winning a medal: $25,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver, and $10,000 for bronze. But the odds of bringing home a medal are long: The 530 U.S. athletes who competed in London in 2012 brought home 103 medals.

It’s a common misconception that Olympic athletes all benefit from endorsement contracts and sponsorships. While that’s true of Olympic celebrities like Michael Phelps and Simone Biles, who have inked lucrative deals, many sports (especially those that don’t enjoy great media attention and air time) don’t pay well, even for athletes at the top of their game.

Which means that many sporting superstars struggle to pay the bills for their quest for Olympic glory—not to mention the costs of traveling to Rio to compete—balancing their demanding training and competition schedules with a full-time career, or a series of part-time jobs. American hurdler Kerron Clement, who took home medals in Beijing and is competing in the Rio Games this year , has worked as a model and an actor; in 2011, he appeared in the music video for Beyonce’s hit “Run the World (Girls).” Emil Milev, a six-time Olympian in pistol shooting, is a physical education teacher at an elementary school in Tampa,according to USA Shooting.

Then there’s cyclist Mara Abbott, who’s just as likely to be found pedaling at high speeds as working at the local farmer’s market in her hometown of Boulder, Colo. She pulls six-hour shifts two days a week. She also teaches yoga and pens a column in the local newspaper, the Daily Camera, writing about everything from her passion for cycling to local politics.

She says balancing an assortment of side gigs with her training isn’t as difficult as being able to find a full-time position that is accommodating of her schedule. “Finding jobs that allow you to travel and be gone so much is a bit more of a challenge,” Abbott says.

Abbott’s costs to attend the Rio Games have been covered by USA Cycling, the sport’s parent organization, as well as the USOC. However, not all Olympic athletes get their trip to Rio de Janeiro fully funded.

Nick Delpopolo, a judo athlete in this year’s Games, says he tries to leverage his athletic abilities to pick up some cash. He teaches judo clinics around the country, running two-hour classes several times per day. When he’s not training, he’s earned extra money from part-time gigs like working at clothing stores, mowing lawns, babysitting, landscaping, and shoveling snow from driveways in the winter.

While USA Judo, the governing body of Delpopolo’s sport, pays for some training and competition costs, he didn’t receive a stipend from the USOC this year. To raise some additional money, Delpopolo has set up a link on his personal website to PayPal for donors to help fund his athletic expenses.

As for balancing his training needs with his side gigs, “it is currently next to impossible,” Delpopolo says.

Some athletes, however, appreciate the work-life balance provided to them by taking a side job on top of intense athletic training. “There are more hours in the day than I can spend training,” Abbott says. “My jobs are things I love and that help me to be a balanced and more sustainable athlete.”