Highly paid professional athletes historically have been where all the attention goes in society. From money….to fame….endorsements all the way to the eyes of a child….professional athletes get it all. However, take a step back and realize there is in fact, a different kind of athlete out there who gets very little of that….often forgotten about days after the Olympic games…..obtains very little in the way of monetary reward….and receives little visibility due to the Olympics limited schedule. An Olympic athlete is not only a professional athlete, but often the most pure form of an athlete.

Very little money is thrown at an Olympic athlete to incentivize them in their training and will to win. It comes from years of hard work and outworking their opponents to make the team and just maybe have a chance to stand on the podium. Yet, when the Olympics end, few people can name 5 athletes with out having to look at a newspaper or use google. Many of these athletes work a night job to keep up with their day training. An athlete training to make the Olympic team often has to spend 35 to 50K on an annual basis for something that just gives them a chance. There are no guarantees here and even more challenging little chance to medal. All that work to be forgotten about months if not days of the Olympic events ending.

Years ago I played a round of golf with an Olympian who won a gold medal the month before we hit the links. That day in conversation the folks we were paired up with asked Casey if he had ever won a medal. He had just won a gold medal the month before! It was like his achievement (which was huge) was nowhere to be found. All I could think about was all the time in his life he put to make this happen…how much he put on hold to make this happen…the dollars spent to make this happen….and how he hit the pinnacle of his career and it virtually went unnoticed.
If anyone has sacrificed in the realm of athletics it is Olympians.

Just imagine putting your life on hold for years to fulfill a dream where being nearly perfect is part of those ingredients. The probability to make trials let alone the team are stacked against you. However, if an Olympic athlete is not the most purest form of an athlete than I don’t know what is. Competing at the highest level knowing money is not to follow is sacrifice few of us will ever understand. However, Olympians understand this all to well and have linear focus few will ever obtain. They have a goal that puts everything on hold to get there. Now that is athletic and personal sacrifice few have the inner discipline to carry out. Olympians do.