British canoeist forced to decide between Olympic dream and OnlyFans
The British athlete was reportedly suspended last month by governing body Paddle UK, and he suspects it has something to do with his racy activity online.
'I have been posting videos (on Instagram) that are consciously made to be edgy in order to drive conversions to my 'spicy content page' (on OnlyFans), to fund this ultimate dream of going to the Olympics,' Rozentals said in an interview with BBC Sport.
Rozentals was removed from the World Class Programme, an initiative for potential Olympic athletes, by Paddle UK pending investigation, leaving his canoeing dreams up in the air.
'I kind of froze and I couldn't believe the words I was hearing because this is what I put my life into this is everything I do,' Rozentals told the outlet of the moment he heard the news.
'My personality at this point, my identity, is sport and I want to be a professional athlete chasing my Olympic dream.'
BBC Sport reported Rozentals 'has more than 10,000 'likes' on the platform and 'has posted 39 videos and over 100 photos' earning more than '$A209,560 since creating his OnlyFans account in January.'
'This is the hardest decision that I've ever faced in my life,' Rozentals said. 'I came to the realisation about why I started doing this last winter after years of struggle, living on the edge, my mum working 90 hours-a-week, having bailiffs at the door.'
'I'm going to find a way where we don't have to struggle, where my mum can enjoy her life and I'm able to put everything into this sport because when you're thinking about how to pay the rent this month and you're standing at the start line, that's not very conducive (to performing well).'
As a UK Paddle Programme athlete, Rozentals had been receiving $A33,529 - but said that's nowhere near enough to sustain himself.'
'I don't know how much you need but it's certainly not $A33,529,' said Rozentals. 'When you have to cover rent, travel, food… and most athletes who train full-time are all living in London.'
'They're very fortunate to have parent backing — I wasn't. I never had the ability to move to London because of financial struggles so I was always doing the travel from the East Midlands, where I live, to London, back-and-forth, back-and-forth.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Football world loses its mind as Sam Kerr's eagerly awaited return locked in
Matildas superstar Sam Kerr has put the world on notice as her long-awaited return to the football pitch is locked in. Kerr ruptured her ACL at training in January 2024 and has not played since. But in a huge update, the 31-year-old revealed she will be back for the start of the new Women's Super League season with Chelsea next month, and promises to be back in the goals. Kerr is currently in pre-season camp with the English side and declared she'll be on the team sheet come September 5, despite not featuring in the Blues' pre-season friendly. And just one goal short of reaching 100 for her club, having scored 99 before suffering a knee injury, Kerr doesn't anticipate it taking her long to reach the 100-goal milestone. 'My contribution is goals; it's as simple as that,' she said in a recent interview with Chelsea. 'For the last however many years, I've been within the top goalscorers, if not the top goalscorer in the team, and that's where I want to come back to. I've got high expectations of myself. 'I have a lot of confidence in my ability, so the contribution for me is straightforward. It's goals. That's what I'm here to do, and that's what I normally do, so there's no reason why I can't do it again.' And safe to say, Chelsea and Matildas fans are happy to see her back on the training ground, with pictures of the superstar on the training park shared to social media inundated with comments. 'Good to have you back Sammy,' one person commented on Chelsea's post. 'SK20 is coming back with vengeance!' another said. 'I cannot wait until she's back,' a third wrote. A fourth simply added: 'Yayyyy!!!!'. Sam Kerr opens up about lonely time In her first interview since returning to training, Kerr revealed that she has to deal with being 'alone a lot' and is thrilled to be back with her teammates. 'During an injury, you're alone a lot,' Kerr said. 'So it's good to be back with the girls, just doing the same training sessions as them rather than solitary rehab sessions. Being in camp like this helps you get to know all the new faces. 'It's nice to be back with the girls, back on the pitch, and I'm excited. I'm most looking forward to being out there, scoring goals and having fun. Getting back to normal and being with the team is great, too.' Chelsea signed her Matildas teammate Ellie Carpenter ahead of this season, something that has only enhanced the Aussie's experience in London. 'I've felt at home at Chelsea regardless of whether there was another Aussie here or not, but it's nice to have someone to chat to about things from home that maybe the other girls would have no idea about,' she said. 'She's a great player and a great athlete. 'Chelsea's about winning, so I think everything we do here is about winning – from the standards at the training ground to what we do on the pitch. When you come to a club like Chelsea, sometimes that can be a culture shock. 'With new players, it's just about guiding them, but honestly, when I came here, I enjoyed it straight away because people just made me feel welcome and comfortable. With my personality and who I am as a leader, my role is to make the girls feel the same way and make sure they're enjoying themselves. 'People can perform at their very best when they're happy, comfortable and feel a part of the team.' Chelsea's first match of the new season will be against rivals Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Friday, September 5.
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
US and EU release details of trade deal featuring broad 15 per cent tariff
Two of the world's largest economies have finally secured a trade deal, which will see the vast majority of European exports to the United States hit with a clear maximum tariff rate of 15 per cent. In a joint statement released on Thursday, local time, both blocs agreed to lower the tariffs applying to European cars, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber. But other key exporters, including Europe's key wine and spirits sector, failed to score a zero-tariff carve-out and now face passing the increased costs onto American consumers. The deal will affect what both parties say is the "most valuable economic relationship in the world", worth 1.6 trillion euros ($2.8 trillion) each year. The agreement builds on an agreement struck last month between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US President Donald Trump. "Faced with a challenging situation, we have delivered for our member states and industry, and restored clarity and coherence to transatlantic trade," Ms von der Leyen said. Meanwhile, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said the agreement was the "most favourable" extended by the US to any trading partner. Mr Sefcovic said the agreement would lower the rate of tariffs on European car exports to the US from 27.5 per cent to 15 per cent. But he added that a push to score a zero per cent tariff on wine and spirits failed, despite a push from major producers in France and Italy. "These doors are not closed forever," he said. The tariffs will affect up to $US10 billion of imports a year and raise the cost of French champagne, Irish whiskey and Italian prosecco for American consumers. The head of France's wine and spirits federation (FEVS), Gabriel Picard, said the 15 per cent tariff left the sector "hugely disappointed". "We are certain that this will create major difficulties for the wines and spirits sector," he said. French Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin said his government would seek "additional exemptions" in the trade deal. Under the agreement, the EU committed to significantly improving market access to a range of US seafood and agricultural goods, including tree nuts, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, pork and bison meat. On the other hand, a special, more favourable regime will apply as of September 1 to a number of EU exports to the US, including "unavailable natural resources" such as cork, all aircraft and aircraft parts and generic pharmaceuticals. These would effectively face a "zero or close to zero" rate, the commission said. The EU and US would also work to fight "unfair and distortive competition" in the steel, aluminium and copper sectors. But amid outcry from certain sectors, Ms von der Leyen said the European Commission would continue to push for further exemptions. "This is not the end of the process; we continue to engage with the US to agree more tariff reductions, to identify more areas of cooperation, and to create more economic growth potential," she said. The French government also indicated it would seek "additional exemptions" from the US. ABC/wires
The Advertiser
5 hours ago
- The Advertiser
China races to build world's largest solar farm
Chinese government officials have shown off what they say will be the world's largest solar farm. It's on a Tibetan plateau and covers 610 square kilometres, which is the size of Chicago. China has been installing solar panels far faster than anywhere else in the world, and the investment is starting to pay off. A study released Thursday found that the country's carbon emissions edged down one per cent in the first six months of 2025 compared to a year earlier, extending a trend that began in March 2024. The good news is China's carbon emissions may have peaked well ahead of a government target of doing so before 2030. But China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, will need to bring them down much more sharply to play its part in slowing global climate change. For China to reach its declared goal of carbon neutrality by 2060, emissions would need to fall three per cent on average over the next 35 years, said Lauri Myllyvirta, the Finland-based author of the study and lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. "China needs to get to that three per cent territory as soon as possible," he said. China's emissions have fallen before during economic slowdowns. What's different this time is electricity demand is growing — up 3.7 per cent in the first half of this year — but the increase in power from solar, wind and nuclear has easily outpaced that, according to Myllyvirta, who analyses the most recent data in a study published on the UK-based Carbon Brief website. "We're talking really for the first time about a structural declining trend in China's emissions," he said. China installed 212 gigawatts of solar capacity in the first six months of the year, more than America's entire capacity of 178 gigawatts as of the end of 2024, the study said. Electricity from solar has overtaken hydropower in China and is poised to surpass wind this year to become the country's largest source of clean energy. Some 51 gigawatts of wind power were added from January to June. Li Shuo, the director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington, described the plateauing of China's carbon emissions as a turning point in the effort to combat climate change. "This is a moment of global significance, offering a rare glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak climate landscape," he wrote in an email response. It also shows that a country can cut emissions while still growing economically, he said. But Li cautioned that China's heavy reliance on coal remains a serious threat to progress on climate and said the economy needs to shift to less resource-intensive sectors. "There's still a long road ahead," he said. A seemingly endless expanse of solar panels stretches toward the horizon on the Tibetan plateau. White two-story buildings rise above them at regular intervals. In an area that is largely desert, the massive solar project has wrought a surprising change on the landscape. The panels act as windbreaks to reduce dust and sand and slow soil evaporation, giving vegetation a foothold. Thousands of sheep, dubbed "photovoltaic sheep," graze happily on the scrubby plants. Wang Anwei, the energy administration chief of Hainan Prefecture, called it a "win-win" situation on multiple levels. "In terms of production, enterprises generate electricity on the top level, and in terms of ecology, grass grows at the bottom under the solar panels, and villagers can herd sheep in between," he said. Solar panels have been installed on about two-thirds of the land, with power already flowing from completed phases. When fully complete, the project will have more than seven million panels and be capable of generating enough power for five million households. Like many of China's solar and wind farms, it was built in the relatively sparsely populated west. A major challenge is getting electricity to the population centres and factories in China's east. "The distribution of green energy resources is perfectly misaligned with the current industrial distribution of our country," Zhang Jinming, the vice governor of Qinghai province, told journalists on a government-organised tour. Part of the solution is building transmission lines traversing the country. One connects Qinghai to Henan province. Two more are planned, including one to Guangdong province in the southeast, almost at the opposite corner of the country. Making full use of the power is hindered by the relatively inflexible way that China's electricity grid is managed, tailored to the steady output of coal plants rather than more variable and less predictable wind and solar, Myllyvirta said. "This is an issue that the policymakers have recognised and are trying to manage, but it does require big changes to the way coal-fired power plants operate and big changes to the way the transmission network operates," he said. "So it's no small task." Chinese government officials have shown off what they say will be the world's largest solar farm. It's on a Tibetan plateau and covers 610 square kilometres, which is the size of Chicago. China has been installing solar panels far faster than anywhere else in the world, and the investment is starting to pay off. A study released Thursday found that the country's carbon emissions edged down one per cent in the first six months of 2025 compared to a year earlier, extending a trend that began in March 2024. The good news is China's carbon emissions may have peaked well ahead of a government target of doing so before 2030. But China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, will need to bring them down much more sharply to play its part in slowing global climate change. For China to reach its declared goal of carbon neutrality by 2060, emissions would need to fall three per cent on average over the next 35 years, said Lauri Myllyvirta, the Finland-based author of the study and lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. "China needs to get to that three per cent territory as soon as possible," he said. China's emissions have fallen before during economic slowdowns. What's different this time is electricity demand is growing — up 3.7 per cent in the first half of this year — but the increase in power from solar, wind and nuclear has easily outpaced that, according to Myllyvirta, who analyses the most recent data in a study published on the UK-based Carbon Brief website. "We're talking really for the first time about a structural declining trend in China's emissions," he said. China installed 212 gigawatts of solar capacity in the first six months of the year, more than America's entire capacity of 178 gigawatts as of the end of 2024, the study said. Electricity from solar has overtaken hydropower in China and is poised to surpass wind this year to become the country's largest source of clean energy. Some 51 gigawatts of wind power were added from January to June. Li Shuo, the director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington, described the plateauing of China's carbon emissions as a turning point in the effort to combat climate change. "This is a moment of global significance, offering a rare glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak climate landscape," he wrote in an email response. It also shows that a country can cut emissions while still growing economically, he said. But Li cautioned that China's heavy reliance on coal remains a serious threat to progress on climate and said the economy needs to shift to less resource-intensive sectors. "There's still a long road ahead," he said. A seemingly endless expanse of solar panels stretches toward the horizon on the Tibetan plateau. White two-story buildings rise above them at regular intervals. In an area that is largely desert, the massive solar project has wrought a surprising change on the landscape. The panels act as windbreaks to reduce dust and sand and slow soil evaporation, giving vegetation a foothold. Thousands of sheep, dubbed "photovoltaic sheep," graze happily on the scrubby plants. Wang Anwei, the energy administration chief of Hainan Prefecture, called it a "win-win" situation on multiple levels. "In terms of production, enterprises generate electricity on the top level, and in terms of ecology, grass grows at the bottom under the solar panels, and villagers can herd sheep in between," he said. Solar panels have been installed on about two-thirds of the land, with power already flowing from completed phases. When fully complete, the project will have more than seven million panels and be capable of generating enough power for five million households. Like many of China's solar and wind farms, it was built in the relatively sparsely populated west. A major challenge is getting electricity to the population centres and factories in China's east. "The distribution of green energy resources is perfectly misaligned with the current industrial distribution of our country," Zhang Jinming, the vice governor of Qinghai province, told journalists on a government-organised tour. Part of the solution is building transmission lines traversing the country. One connects Qinghai to Henan province. Two more are planned, including one to Guangdong province in the southeast, almost at the opposite corner of the country. Making full use of the power is hindered by the relatively inflexible way that China's electricity grid is managed, tailored to the steady output of coal plants rather than more variable and less predictable wind and solar, Myllyvirta said. "This is an issue that the policymakers have recognised and are trying to manage, but it does require big changes to the way coal-fired power plants operate and big changes to the way the transmission network operates," he said. "So it's no small task." Chinese government officials have shown off what they say will be the world's largest solar farm. It's on a Tibetan plateau and covers 610 square kilometres, which is the size of Chicago. China has been installing solar panels far faster than anywhere else in the world, and the investment is starting to pay off. A study released Thursday found that the country's carbon emissions edged down one per cent in the first six months of 2025 compared to a year earlier, extending a trend that began in March 2024. The good news is China's carbon emissions may have peaked well ahead of a government target of doing so before 2030. But China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, will need to bring them down much more sharply to play its part in slowing global climate change. For China to reach its declared goal of carbon neutrality by 2060, emissions would need to fall three per cent on average over the next 35 years, said Lauri Myllyvirta, the Finland-based author of the study and lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. "China needs to get to that three per cent territory as soon as possible," he said. China's emissions have fallen before during economic slowdowns. What's different this time is electricity demand is growing — up 3.7 per cent in the first half of this year — but the increase in power from solar, wind and nuclear has easily outpaced that, according to Myllyvirta, who analyses the most recent data in a study published on the UK-based Carbon Brief website. "We're talking really for the first time about a structural declining trend in China's emissions," he said. China installed 212 gigawatts of solar capacity in the first six months of the year, more than America's entire capacity of 178 gigawatts as of the end of 2024, the study said. Electricity from solar has overtaken hydropower in China and is poised to surpass wind this year to become the country's largest source of clean energy. Some 51 gigawatts of wind power were added from January to June. Li Shuo, the director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington, described the plateauing of China's carbon emissions as a turning point in the effort to combat climate change. "This is a moment of global significance, offering a rare glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak climate landscape," he wrote in an email response. It also shows that a country can cut emissions while still growing economically, he said. But Li cautioned that China's heavy reliance on coal remains a serious threat to progress on climate and said the economy needs to shift to less resource-intensive sectors. "There's still a long road ahead," he said. A seemingly endless expanse of solar panels stretches toward the horizon on the Tibetan plateau. White two-story buildings rise above them at regular intervals. In an area that is largely desert, the massive solar project has wrought a surprising change on the landscape. The panels act as windbreaks to reduce dust and sand and slow soil evaporation, giving vegetation a foothold. Thousands of sheep, dubbed "photovoltaic sheep," graze happily on the scrubby plants. Wang Anwei, the energy administration chief of Hainan Prefecture, called it a "win-win" situation on multiple levels. "In terms of production, enterprises generate electricity on the top level, and in terms of ecology, grass grows at the bottom under the solar panels, and villagers can herd sheep in between," he said. Solar panels have been installed on about two-thirds of the land, with power already flowing from completed phases. When fully complete, the project will have more than seven million panels and be capable of generating enough power for five million households. Like many of China's solar and wind farms, it was built in the relatively sparsely populated west. A major challenge is getting electricity to the population centres and factories in China's east. "The distribution of green energy resources is perfectly misaligned with the current industrial distribution of our country," Zhang Jinming, the vice governor of Qinghai province, told journalists on a government-organised tour. Part of the solution is building transmission lines traversing the country. One connects Qinghai to Henan province. Two more are planned, including one to Guangdong province in the southeast, almost at the opposite corner of the country. Making full use of the power is hindered by the relatively inflexible way that China's electricity grid is managed, tailored to the steady output of coal plants rather than more variable and less predictable wind and solar, Myllyvirta said. "This is an issue that the policymakers have recognised and are trying to manage, but it does require big changes to the way coal-fired power plants operate and big changes to the way the transmission network operates," he said. "So it's no small task." Chinese government officials have shown off what they say will be the world's largest solar farm. It's on a Tibetan plateau and covers 610 square kilometres, which is the size of Chicago. China has been installing solar panels far faster than anywhere else in the world, and the investment is starting to pay off. A study released Thursday found that the country's carbon emissions edged down one per cent in the first six months of 2025 compared to a year earlier, extending a trend that began in March 2024. The good news is China's carbon emissions may have peaked well ahead of a government target of doing so before 2030. But China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, will need to bring them down much more sharply to play its part in slowing global climate change. For China to reach its declared goal of carbon neutrality by 2060, emissions would need to fall three per cent on average over the next 35 years, said Lauri Myllyvirta, the Finland-based author of the study and lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. "China needs to get to that three per cent territory as soon as possible," he said. China's emissions have fallen before during economic slowdowns. What's different this time is electricity demand is growing — up 3.7 per cent in the first half of this year — but the increase in power from solar, wind and nuclear has easily outpaced that, according to Myllyvirta, who analyses the most recent data in a study published on the UK-based Carbon Brief website. "We're talking really for the first time about a structural declining trend in China's emissions," he said. China installed 212 gigawatts of solar capacity in the first six months of the year, more than America's entire capacity of 178 gigawatts as of the end of 2024, the study said. Electricity from solar has overtaken hydropower in China and is poised to surpass wind this year to become the country's largest source of clean energy. Some 51 gigawatts of wind power were added from January to June. Li Shuo, the director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington, described the plateauing of China's carbon emissions as a turning point in the effort to combat climate change. "This is a moment of global significance, offering a rare glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak climate landscape," he wrote in an email response. It also shows that a country can cut emissions while still growing economically, he said. But Li cautioned that China's heavy reliance on coal remains a serious threat to progress on climate and said the economy needs to shift to less resource-intensive sectors. "There's still a long road ahead," he said. A seemingly endless expanse of solar panels stretches toward the horizon on the Tibetan plateau. White two-story buildings rise above them at regular intervals. In an area that is largely desert, the massive solar project has wrought a surprising change on the landscape. The panels act as windbreaks to reduce dust and sand and slow soil evaporation, giving vegetation a foothold. Thousands of sheep, dubbed "photovoltaic sheep," graze happily on the scrubby plants. Wang Anwei, the energy administration chief of Hainan Prefecture, called it a "win-win" situation on multiple levels. "In terms of production, enterprises generate electricity on the top level, and in terms of ecology, grass grows at the bottom under the solar panels, and villagers can herd sheep in between," he said. Solar panels have been installed on about two-thirds of the land, with power already flowing from completed phases. When fully complete, the project will have more than seven million panels and be capable of generating enough power for five million households. Like many of China's solar and wind farms, it was built in the relatively sparsely populated west. A major challenge is getting electricity to the population centres and factories in China's east. "The distribution of green energy resources is perfectly misaligned with the current industrial distribution of our country," Zhang Jinming, the vice governor of Qinghai province, told journalists on a government-organised tour. Part of the solution is building transmission lines traversing the country. One connects Qinghai to Henan province. Two more are planned, including one to Guangdong province in the southeast, almost at the opposite corner of the country. Making full use of the power is hindered by the relatively inflexible way that China's electricity grid is managed, tailored to the steady output of coal plants rather than more variable and less predictable wind and solar, Myllyvirta said. "This is an issue that the policymakers have recognised and are trying to manage, but it does require big changes to the way coal-fired power plants operate and big changes to the way the transmission network operates," he said. "So it's no small task."
