"Between now and then, athletes will compete fiercely with each other to qualify for the team and represent the U.S. at the Winter Olympics. While the immense challenge of maintaining an extreme training program, avoiding injury, and stringing together a successful set of races in the season leading up to the Winter Olympics may sound familiar, the part of the story that often goes untold involves huge sums of money and extensive travel to make it to critical races, careers being put on hold, and balancing dreams of being an Olympian with realities that may mean living in your car for a few months a year."
"High-profile sports, like hockey and alpine skiing, benefit from extensive sponsorship and robust fan bases. But for other events, like bobsledding, skeleton, ski mountaineering, and all of the events in the Paralympic Games, the harsh reality is that being one of the best in the world does not necessarily mean you will be able to go to the Olympics. More and more athletes are turning to crowdfunding sources like GoFundMe to help make their Olympic dreams a reality."
In a few months Team USA will enter the opening ceremony at Milano Cortina, Italy. Athletes compete fiercely to qualify and represent the U.S. at the Winter Olympics. Maintaining extreme training, avoiding injury, and producing consistent season results creates immense challenges. Many athletes also face large expenses and extensive travel to reach critical races, pause careers, and sometimes endure unstable housing. High-profile sports like hockey and alpine skiing attract sponsorship and fans, while sports such as bobsledding, skeleton, ski mountaineering, and Paralympic events often lack funding. Increasingly, athletes use crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe to finance Olympic bids and related costs. Geoff Gadbois has raced bobsleds for almost 15 years.
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