I am an Olympic medallist but cannot afford a mortgage

Telegraph

25-03-2025

December 2023 was the first time I ever received funding for my sport – more than six years into my career. Eight months later I won an Olympic medal in Paris. In those intervening months, I received only £11,000 in funding, making me one of the cheapest British medallists in Paris.
Being an Olympic athlete is my dream job. It is all I ever wanted to be for as long as I can remember. But sometimes the financial reality can hit hard.
This month UK Sport announced changes to the funding athletes receive. Whilst the improvements are a start, the risk of losing a generation of British athletes remains great.
I now have something to show for the sacrifices I made in the years prior to the Olympics. Not all athletes can say the same and many are forced to give up just as they are on the cusp of making it, unable to afford the financial pressures any longer.
To give some background on the UK Sport funding system, Athletic Performance Awards (APAs) are the direct payments athletes receive. These are managed by UK Sport and exclusively funded by the National Lottery. This is why you will often hear athletes thank the National Lottery post-races; without its support we quite simply would not be there. APAs work on set levels and are dependent on potential, performances and results. Each sport will have a certain number to allocate and requirements for each level.
Although APAs are meant to help athletes afford their training and living costs while pursuing the Olympic or Paralympic podium, the problem lies in these grants having remained the same at all levels from 2012 to 2024. During this time inflation has increased by 40 per cent, meaning athletes on the top-level A grants are, in real-world terms, £11,000 a year worse off than their predecessors four Olympiads ago.
As a consequence Olympic athletes may opt to fund themselves through other means. Most notably during the Paris Olympics it was revealed that Jack Laugher had set up an OnlyFans account to supplement the money he was receiving from his APA.
Laugher is an Olympic gold medallist. This means he is in receipt of Podium level funding (£27,000 a year) and yet still struggles to financially afford his sport. It is a stark reality.
Laugher is not alone. Whilst his way of affording his sporting and living costs may be a little quirkier than most, hundreds of athletes across Olympic sports will have all found various other sources of income. Sponsorship can be an option for some, but the vast number of Olympic medallists in the last few Games makes it hard to stand out, as does competing with the influx of social media influencers whom brands will prefer because of the sheer number of followers they have amassed on Instagram or TikTok. Many will have to rely on family support throughout their careers, but this can get a little wearisome as athletes approach their 30s.
In my own career I have held a number of part-time jobs whilst pursuing rowing full-time. Nannying, coaching, working for an online shop – just a few of the roles I have found to fit around the intense training schedule, while also ensuring I can afford my rent and food each month. We train three sessions every day, 7am to 4pm, to have a job around that is difficult. There is no choice in the matter, to relax the training schedule would mean falling behind the rest of the world.
Recovery is frequently compromised and it is no wonder young athletes will often suffer burnout before they make it to senior programmes, such is the stress of the different demands being balanced.
Before December 2023, I was not deemed good enough by my national governing body to receive funding. I had not met the required performance targets and at the age of 25 was not viewed as having much potential. This changed when I finally broke into the senior team at the start of the Olympic season.
I had rowed for six-and-a-half years by the time I received my first funding payment: £1,000 a month. Although it was a huge help, it was enough to cover rent and bills and little else. This increased to £1500 once I had gained selection in a boat, but again it meant that after the cost of food and fuel there was not much left over. As I attempted to qualify for the Olympics I was still packaging and posting shopping orders in my spare time, trying to afford the dream I was pursuing.
The British Elite Athletes Association (BEAA) conducted a survey after the Paris Olympics which found 64 per cent of athletes would quit their careers should APAs not improve. This poses a 'significant threat to British sport' and could mean hundreds of athletes ending their sporting careers before they accomplish what they have set out to do.
Had I not made the Olympic team in 2024 this is a decision I may have had to face. Years of putting my life on hold to pursue my dream was taking its toll and another four years of balancing work with training was an exhausting thought.
While my situation has improved, helped in no small part by winning an Olympic medal, I am one of the lucky ones. But even now, as I pursue a gold medal at Los Angeles 2028, I will still have to find ways to supplement my APA income. My friends outside sport all live a completely different life to me. Many have started to buy houses, afford weddings and all have savings. I am years behind this and often feel as if I am still a student. A mortgage is a long way off and any increases in rent or bills fill me with dread.
My sport is not alone in looking for sponsorship. British Rowing recognises the need to support its athletes and with the absence of bonuses in the UK for Olympic performances, sponsorship could at least bridge the gap a little to more affordable living.
This is not a sob story. This is the life I have chosen to live and it is a privilege to be able to do my sport and get paid for it. However, the reality is British Olympic sport sits on the cusp of losing a generation of athletes who can no longer afford to pursue their sport at the highest level. Olympic dreams are being crushed before they have been given a chance.