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With the Paris 2024 Olympics<\/a> making headlines for some pretty outrageous prizes<\/a>, it\u2019s easy to believe that all medalists are set for life. However, not every champion\u2019s career is paved with gold\u2014just ask Daniella Ramirez.<\/p>\n Despite landing a coveted spot on the U.S. women\u2019s synchronized swimming team and winning a silver medal for the country in the Paris Olympics, Ramirez has revealed that she\u2019s had to turn to a side hustle to pay the bills.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI get just enough to cover my rent a month,\u201d she recently told the BBC<\/a><\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s not enough to be a career and this is a full-time job.\u201d<\/p>\n The 22-year-old UCLA student previously revealed that she trains from 6:30 am to 2:30 pm<\/a> at a minimum\u2014even on weekends\u2014leaving little room for a nine-to-five gig.<\/p>\n Enter, influencing. <\/p>\n Like many Gen Zers, Ramirez turned to social media content creation as a side gig during the pandemic. Now, it pays more than being an Olympian does.<\/p>\n \u201cMy primary job right now\u2014the thing that makes the most money\u2014is definitely TikTok, Instagram<\/a>, and all my social media handles,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Ramirez has racked up nearly 550,000 followers on TikTok alone, and millions of people are tuning into so-called \u201cASMR<\/a>\u201d videos of her peeling the gel coating off of her slick performance-ready hairdo.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat social media means, [is] that you can do things on your own time, on your own schedule, make ends meet, and get to do your sport full-time.\u201d<\/p>\n Fortune<\/em> has reached out to Ramirez for comment.<\/p>\n Mainstream athletes like Simone Biles can make millions from sponsorship deals. Meanwhile, a few lucky lesser-known athletes like Philippines gymnast Carlos Yulo may be set for life with a fully furnished $555,000 condo<\/a>, over $200,000 in cash, and a lifetime supply of ramen to go with his medals if they are one of the rare medalists in their country\u2019s history.<\/p>\n However, most Olympians don\u2019t get lavished with these kinds of offers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite being the first American woman to medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympics, the track and bobsled star Lauryn Williams echoed Ramirez\u2019 frustration, saying her phone wasn\u2019t exactly buzzing with work opportunities, either.<\/p>\n \u201cThe news coverage came, but the sponsors didn\u2019t,\u201d revealed<\/a> Williams, the only American woman to win a medal at both the summer and winter games.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s this misconception that because I\u2019m the first to do this thing\u2014and still no one else has done it\u2014that I\u2019m booked all year long for speaking engagements\u2026 I get things here or there, but I can\u2019t make a living from it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Like Ramirez, she\u2019s had to turn to alternative work to make ends meet\u2014and they\u2019re far from alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n A 2020 survey of 500 Olympic-level athletes across 48 countries found that 58% didn\u2019t consider themselves \u201cfinancially stable<\/a>\u201d with respondents complaining they have to live off \u201ccasual work\u201d instead of their sport.<\/p>\n The International Olympic Committee doesn\u2019t provide prize money to participants or medal winners. Instead, it\u2019s up to individual countries and the governing bodies of their sports to award prize money, if any.\u00a0<\/p>\n U.S. athletes that take home a gold medal receive $37,500, for example, with silver earning $22,500 and bronze $15,000 (British athletes do not receive any cash bonus for their wins at all). But those awards pale when compared to the lifestyle and work ethic needed to perform at that level. <\/p>\n \u201cIt is not every four years, it\u2019s every single day. It\u2019s missing Christmas, it\u2019s not going home, it\u2019s missing your family,\u201d Ramirez explained. \u201cIt\u2019s worth it, but it\u2019s really grueling.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nMost Olympians don\u2019t make money from their sport\u00a0<\/h2>\n
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