""There's this misconception that because I'm the first to do this thing-and still no one else has done it-that I'm booked all year long for speaking engagements," she told CNBC Make It. "I get things here or there, but I can't make a living from it.""
""The news coverage came, but the sponsors didn't. I made $80,000 the year I became the first American woman to medal in the Summer and Winter Olympics.""
""The money doesn't go quite as far as people think it does, even though it was a pretty good living for a 20-year-old," she stressed. "I had a 10-year career, so it set me up better than the average person by the time I was 30. But it also didn't give me the income to kick my feet up forever and never have to do anything again.""
Lauryn Williams became the first American woman to medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympics but did not secure long-term financial stability. She earned roughly $200,000 a year at age 20 from sponsorships, yet agent commissions and taxes substantially reduced take-home income. News coverage of her achievement did not translate into sustained sponsor deals, and she earned $80,000 the year she medaled in both Games. By age 30 she began a low-paid internship at Briaud Financial Advisors after initially being turned down. A decade-long athletic career provided some advantage but not lifelong financial independence.
Read at Fortune
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