This Is the Insane Amount of Money It Takes to Become an Olympic Figure Skater

No actually the term “burn out” is non scientific. I value your input but you have no idea about anything concerning our family. My daughter is incredible who she is, I think she really wants to be a bobsledder and this is a great way to stay healthy, learn incredible life lessons. I agree thus we have changed our environment. I do not get involved in the coaches decisions, you must trust your coach and we have always done as recommended and yes my daughter had great potential but puberty is not being nice... as you all predicted.. so our approach has changed, she does not want to stop
 
Let’s play nice said:
No actually the term “burn out” is non scientific. I value your input but you have no idea about anything concerning our family. My daughter is incredible who she is, I think she really wants to be a bobsledder and this is a great way to stay healthy, learn incredible life lessons. I agree thus we have changed our environment. I do not get involved in the coaches decisions, you must trust your coach and we have always done as recommended and yes my daughter had great potential but puberty is not being nice... as you all predicted.. so our approach has changed, she does not want to stop
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I'm glad Elise loves skating so much! Her joy is contagious.
 
berthesghost said:
I don’t get why anyone would be surprised that oly medalists in a high profile sport seem to be rich.
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I wonder if that holds true for marathon running, sprinting, or other sports that don't require a whole lot of special equipment or a special facility?

Of course a runner or sprinter, or track and field athlete, would require special running or track shoes, possibly custom made, and the help of coaching and other professionals if he/she got to the competitive level.

But runners or sprinters, or track/field athletes, could get to the level where competing becomes possible less expensively than figure skaters or hockey players or bobsledders, I would think. Same would go for weight lifting and some other sports - summer sports particularly.

Of course I'm only surmising here and could be entirely wrong.

To me, the biggest indicator that these people who earned their nest eggs the hard way are not worried about general living expenses is that they seem to have the freedom to pursue their dreams. Tara spent how many years in Hollywood trying to become an established actress? She wasn’t parking cars or pumping gas that whole time. Still, I don’t recall her living it up in mc hammer’s former mansion either. They all seem pretty smart about money imho
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People with lots of money can afford to pay someone else to be smart about it (not that they always do).

A certain amount of income is pretty much required for a skater to get to the competitive level and even more is required to get to the elite level. Especially when one parent from a two parents home isn't working and supporting the skater and traveling to his/her competitions. I would think that poor skaters like Tonya Harding, who live in a trailer park and camp out on their car on occasion when traveling, would be the exception to the norm.

To give an example, I remember looking at pictures of Megan Duhamel's wedding in the Barbados (or Bahamas, I don't recall for sure). It was at a beautiful and expensive resort (about $500.00 per night IIRC). I doubt that Megan and Bruno paid for people's airfare and accommodation, so it would have been assumed that guests could shoulder those costs on their own. You need to a have social circle of people with a degree of financial freedom to be able to make such an assumption.
 
The country has been changing since regan so we get a lot less tonya’s then before, but even Tonya shows what a uphill battle it was. Doris Fleming was a superstar, and it’s not everyone who can momager their kid from homeless to celebrity with their own series of tv specials, all from a princess wall phone. Oksana had top professional representation and got a fraction of what Peggy got. I know people love to dump on the Lipinskis but I appreciate their honesty. Just because they were rich doesn’t mean they didn’t sacrifice and when she hit the top the pay day was not at all what she expected.
 
berthesghost said:
Just because they were rich doesn’t mean they didn’t sacrifice and when she hit the top the pay day was not at all what she expected.
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Tara has an Olympic gold medal and has had a very successful career in broadcasting. Given that she came from a rich family to start off with, she wouldn't be hurting for money at all.
 
Also why Rippon and the ShibSibs are likely not competing at Worlds to be able to receive more than press - monetary rewards for their sacrifices and labors through commitments to sponsors, appearances, and the like.
 
Japanfan said:
Tara has an Olympic gold medal and has had a very successful career in broadcasting. Given that she came from a rich family to start off with, she wouldn't be hurting for money at all.
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I just read she is worth @ $4 million. That was surprising, and shows he downward trend of figure skating. Kwan was @ $17 million, and Kerrigan received $7 million for riding in a parade at Disneyworld after her silver medal.
 
DreamSkates said:
I just read she is worth @ $4 million. That was surprising, and shows he downward trend of figure skating. Kwan was @ $17 million, and Kerrigan received $7 million for riding in a parade at Disneyworld after her silver medal.
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Interest in the sport definitely has something to do with the pricing, but the individual's personality and public image also factor into it as well.

Where did you find the figure of $7 million for Kerrigan at Disney? According to this article https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/2/2/5363088/going-to-disney-world-super-bowl-history in 1987 football players only got $75,000 for yelling "I'm going to Disneyland" at the Super Bowl - and football is much more high profile and has much bigger audiences than skating. Even in an Olympic year $7 million for a single public appearance seems way out of proportion.
 
ribbon said:
What surprises me is how some of the former top athletes seem to live quite luxurious lives. If you follow Sasha, Michelle, or Evan on social media, it's clear the financial sacrifices didn't seem to affect them long term. For Michelle, her career was long and she had top dollar for ads and tours, but she must have also had scholarships for her degrees because those would have drained some of her account.

Tara and Johnny's lifestyle is extremely comfy...living in expensive areas, a designer wardrobe, exotic vacations in Top resorts, etc. Tara was probably making a good salary as a pro, but her career was short lived. Did Jack Lipinski hire Warren Buffet to be her financial planner?

Or, perhaps it is an example of how wealthier skaters who can afford the training, equipment, etc without terrible family financial sacrifice have a distinct advantage and will make it farther in the sport.
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I've always wondered that too. Evan had a few big sponsors, and I assume Sasha and Michele did too. They all seem to be living very comfortably. Actually, I haven't seen Michelle's IG, but Sasha and Evan do. Evan now works for Vera Wang. Maybe he's paid very well...well enough for a luxury apartment in NYC and at least two fancy cars, that I've seen.

I assume Tara's parents took her winnings money, not to mention the money from Stars on Ice at the peak of figure skating in the U.S. and helped her invest well. At one point, based on her IG, she had a townhouse in NYC, a home in California, and a beach house in South Carolina. All were decorated in a way that looked to have been extremely expensive. I believe her parents also have their own beach house in South Carolina, near hers. And these are not small homes. I know (as has been noted) that Tara's dad was an oil executive. On her and Johnny's podcast she has referenced facing financial struggles. Maybe at that time, her dad wasn't making millions.

Johnny definitely did not come from money. I think his mom worked for the US Census or something, and his dad (I think) has been unable to work due to disability since he was a child. I think they own their (modest) home, but I also think Johnny's mother has had to work multiple jobs. I believe Johnny taught skating classes and maybe did other jobs around his rink to help pay for training. And when he got older he did a ton of skating shows in the off season to fund his training. I also think he wrote in his book that his coach (Priscilla Hill) offered her services for free in the beginning because otherwise his mom said the family couldn't afford it. The money he has now is likely because of skating shows (he still does shows in Japan, as well as China and Russia, I think, where I assume skaters are paid quite well) and also his gig at NBC. I'm pretty sure some of his vacations are comped, because I know he's always plugging the resorts where he stays on Instagram.
 
But you have to have the personality and willingness to eschew privacy to make money in today's media game. Adam, Johnny, and Tara seem to be ok with it. Many other people would rather dig ditches than have their every move show up on FB or IG.
 
Justathoughtabl said:
Johnny definitely did not come from money. I think his mom worked for the US Census or something, and his dad (I think) has been unable to work due to disability since he was a child. I think they own their (modest) home, but I also think Johnny's mother has had to work multiple jobs. I believe Johnny taught skating classes and maybe did other jobs around his rink to help pay for training. And when he got older he did a ton of skating shows in the off season to fund his training.
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IIRC Johnny Weir had to give up equestrian sports because there was no way his family could afford two expensive sports. OTOH, it probably helped that he got his start in skating so late. A lot of skaters' families would be have spent six figures by the time he or she turned 12.

I imagine a lot of the things on his social media are indeed comped.
 
ribbon said:
What surprises me is how some of the former top athletes seem to live quite luxurious lives. If you follow Sasha, Michelle, or Evan on social media, it's clear the financial sacrifices didn't seem to affect them long term. For Michelle, her career was long and she had top dollar for ads and tours, but she must have also had scholarships for her degrees because those would have drained some of her account.
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Once you have a few million in the bank, your money can start making money without you doing anything else. Michelle at one point had 2 million a year in endorsements. And she's clearly not a spendthrift and seems to have made some nice investments in real estate as well.

I really doubt she had scholarships for school. What's a few hundred thousand when your net worth is estimated to be about 16 million? (at least according to this article)

Zemgirl said:
IIRC Johnny Weir had to give up equestrian sports because there was no way his family could afford two expensive sports. OTOH, it probably helped that he got his start in skating so late. A lot of skaters' families would be have spent six figures by the time he or she turned 12.
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They probably spent that on equestrian sports. Horses are expensive.
 
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overedge said:
Interest in the sport definitely has something to do with the pricing, but the individual's personality and public image also factor into it as well.

Where did you find the figure of $7 million for Kerrigan at Disney? According to this article https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/2/2/5363088/going-to-disney-world-super-bowl-history in 1987 football players only got $75,000 for yelling "I'm going to Disneyland" at the Super Bowl - and football is much more high profile and has much bigger audiences than skating. Even in an Olympic year $7 million for a single public appearance seems way out of proportion.
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Oh, a senior moment- but this article says $2 million. Also says she made $4 million from endoresements after the Olympic silver medal/Harding incident. So that comes to $6 million.
http://www.businessinsider.com/nancy-kerrigan-backlash-in-1994-2014-1
 
There's this myth that figure skating in Russia is "state sponsored" and therefore parents don't have to make many financial sacrifices for their children... but that's completely wrong there really isn't much difference financially for a young Russian skater and an American one. State sponsorship amounts to block grants to successful clubs/coaches and if a young skater is scouted by one of those clubs/coaches then things get a bit easier.
 
DreamSkates said:
Also why Rippon and the ShibSibs are likely not competing at Worlds to be able to receive more than press - monetary rewards for their sacrifices and labors through commitments to sponsors, appearances, and the like.
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Adam seems aware that his skating days are mostly over. He absolutely needs to capitalize when he can. Whether he makes a career out of what comes next, or just sets money aside for the rest of his life; the next month or so is crucial to him. The media loves him, so he needs to carefully field opportunities. Worlds would be a distraction. He knows he isn't a medal contender.

And the ShibSibs have always shown they have other interests, even if they plan to keep skating, they have to strike while the iron is hot. The future is uncertain, and they are a wanted commodity now.

I think it makes perfect sense for both of them not to compete. It's not just about money (though, yeah- money!) it's about what happens for the rest of their lives after skating.
 
mag said:
@Jozet your post above is probably the main reason Mirai was working as an ice girl rather than teaching seminars to the players. There is nothing in her background that would lead me to believe that she would have the skills necessary to develop, plan, and implement a training program for adult men. Especially adult men who may feel like being taught by a young figure skater is beneath them. Even if they were all keen, coaching is a skill that generally needs to be learned and practiced, planing and developing programs, well that is totally unrelated to figure skating skills (something I wish many Skating Directors would realize!)
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Nicole Bobek was teaching power skating to hockey players in FL. I see a lot of FS coaches teaching power skating to adult hockey players.

Mirai is an elite athlete who has competed internationally, I think that would earn her the respect of other athletes.
 
aliceanne said:
Nicole Bobek was teaching power skating to hockey players in FL. I see a lot of FS coaches teaching power skating to adult hockey players.

Mirai is an elite athlete who has competed internationally, I think that would earn her the respect of other athletes.
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Mirai is quite young though- I don't know if she has the skills to teach other professionals, not having a high level coaching resume.
So while she might be able to do power skating techniques for children in both figure skating and hockey, having her teach them to professional hockey players seems odd. They are all elite athletes too, and Mirai isn't a known power skating genius.

Also, Mirai seems to like to have some fun. Maybe she just enjoyed being an Ice Girl and the friendships with the others?
 
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aliceanne said:
Nicole Bobek was teaching power skating to hockey players in FL. I see a lot of FS coaches teaching power skating to adult hockey players.

Mirai is an elite athlete who has competed internationally, I think that would earn her the respect of other athletes.
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But it not just about respect. Teaching and doing are two completely different things. Just being able to do something has nothing to do with being able to teach it to other people. There are lots of Skaters who have absolutely no idea how they manage to land the jumps they do or how they can Skate fast. They just do it. A coach need to be able to break down the steps involved, they need to be able to explain those steps in a way the student will understand. Then they need to be able to watch the student, figure out what they are doing wrong, explain that to the student, give them a specific correction, perhaps even take the bit that is wrong and isolate it in an exercise, and then wash, rinse, repeat.

Again, I see nothing in Mirai’s public personne that would lead me to believe she has those skills. She may, of course have them or she may be capable of learning them, we just don’t know.
 
Japanfan said:
Of course a runner or sprinter, or track and field athlete, would require special running or track shoes, possibly custom made, and the help of coaching and other professionals if he/she got to the competitive level.

But runners or sprinters, or track/field athletes, could get to the level where competing becomes possible less expensively than figure skaters or hockey players or bobsledders, I would think. Same would go for weight lifting and some other sports - summer sports particularly.
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Training costs are still costly in Athletics/Track and Field if you go pro. Yes, you can certainly join the college/university club for ~$1500-$2000 US, but pretty much all of your off track training expenses (fitness/rehab/nutrition/competition entry fees) are out of your pocket.

There are more year round Elite training centres whose annual fees are around $20,000 USD/year, where some of the above is part of the package, plus the pro members are required to mentor/coach younger aspiring elites.
 
DreamSkates said:
This is interesting, not sure how accurate. I read other places that Kwan was worth $14 million, and that a 2000 contract with Chevrolet netted her $1 million.
https://www.alux.com/richest-figure-skaters-world/8/
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I don't believe these net worth estimates. They're just that-- estimates. I doubt anyone knows where celebrities have put their money, how much interest their investments have earned or not earned, etc. I'm sure it's not off base to assume Michelle made a lot of money. She was America's queen of figure skating in the 90s, after all. But how can anyone know what her net worth is?
 
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