A 2024 Paris Olympics athlete has laid bare the reality for many competitors after revealing she is struggling to pay her rent while fighting it out for gold medals.
Veronica Fraley, who is part of Team USA, is representing the States in the discus throw which starts today (2 August) at Paris' famous Stade de France, with the final next week on Monday.
But while she has been intensely preparing for what could be the biggest few days of the 24-year-old's life, reality back home is causing quite the headache.
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Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Fraley was frank and open about her struggles.
Writing on the social media app on Thursday, she said: "I compete in the Olympic Games TOMORROW and can’t even pay my rent.
"My school only sent about 75 percent of my rent while they pay football players (who haven’t won anything) enough to buy new cars and houses."
Fraley then shared a link to her personal GoFundMe page, which she says she is using to fund her athletics journey.
"If at all interested in helping a 2024 Paris Olympian and two-time World Championship qualifier in women’s discus, use this link," she wrote.
"After Paris, I am aiming for the 2025 World Championships and 2028 Olympics next as I begin my professional track and field career."
Fraley's struggles shine a light on how normal a life many Olympians live. Despite her being the reigning NCAA discus champion, not everyone is Usain Bolt with millions in the bank due to sponsorship deals.
Officially, athletes are not paid by the International Olympic Committee and are left to rely on donations or funding from their national Olympic committees.
Team GB's gold medal winning diver, Jack Laugher, revealed he gets £28,000 of funding a year to keep his Olympic dreams alive.
Thankfully for Fraley, who studies at Vanderbilt Peabody College, her honesty on social media has seen people come to her aid - including Public Enemy rapper Flavor Flav.
The co-founder of Reddit, Alexis Ohanian, has also given Fraley a helping hand.
Ohanian, who is married to tennis superstar Serena Williams, posted a video showing a donation to Fraley's fund of $7,760 (£6,090).
Flav replied to Fraley on X saying: "I gotchu. DM me and I’ll send payment TODAY so you don’t have to worry about it TOMORROW and imma be rooting for ya tomorrow."
He later told NBC: "I'm happy to help out those who are representing the best of us. This is exactly why I’m in Paris and the awareness I've been trying to bring to these athletes' needs."
Fraley later clarified on X that her issue isn't with her school, but the rules schools have to abide by.
"Mainly the rules that bar me from making the amount I’m WORTH as a collegiate athlete, such as NIL [name, image and likeness] which favours popularity over performance. That’s all I’m saying," she said.
Topics: Olympics, US News, Money, Cost of Living, Sport, World News
Tom Earnshaw