- [Narrator] Olympians train for almost their entire lives,
with the goal
of winding up here. (crowd cheering and clapping)
And that goal comes at a heavy price.
- It costs a lot.
It really, honestly does,
between the training and the traveling,
coaches' fees, it's quite a bit.
- [Narrator] It might pay off and they can wind up here.
- Because a complete breakfast with Wheaties
is good tasting and good for you.
- [Narrator] But to get there
requires years of financial investment.
- You're gonna be in a club program
that's gonna cost about 5,000 a year.
There's also fees to be paid for going to competitions.
If you go away to an away meet, you're gonna travel.
You may fly. You may drive.
You're gonna have to stay at a hotel.
All of those expenses add up.
- [Narrator] Even relatively accessible sports like swimming
can cost athletes thousands every year.
Those expenses start as a child
and only get more expensive over time,
costing Olympians and their families
hundreds of thousands of dollars
in hopes of making it to the Olympic games.
Here's a look at how much it costs
to become an Olympic swimmer.
(start gun buzzes) Unlike other sports,
there aren't a bunch of things you need to buy.
The cost of equipment is subjective to preference,
but competitive swimmers use special swimsuits
called tech suits, which can add up.
Men's tech suits like this one can cost up to $400
and women's can cost up to $600.
- They could last one meet, three or four swims.
It all depends about how long you wanna wear them,
if they rip or tear or wear out.
The suit, it fits very tightly.
If you buy two, three or four suits a year,
you're spending 2,000 bucks on bathing suits.
- [Narrator] Swim caps and goggles are not as expensive
and can cost up to $300 per year.
And there's one more piece of important equipment, a pool.
Swimming schools like SwimLabs, a USA Swimming
officially recognized professional swim lesson provider,
has locations all across the US.
Their location in Westchester, New York
offers private lessons that cost $349 per month.
Regardless of where young swimmers learn how to swim,
competitive swimmers will need access to Olympic-size pools
for real training in the sport.
This usually means
joining a club's competitive swimming team.
- [Swim Club Instructor] Welcome to Meadowbrook.
It's the swim facility where a Phelps
and fellow Olympic medalist, Katie Hoff,
both got their starts.
- USA Swimming's number one ranked swim club
in the United States is NCAP
or The Nation's Capital Swim Club.
In 2021, a club membership in the Gold 1 category
for elite swimmers at their Washington, D.C. location
will set a swimmer back about $5,860 per year.
Swimmers start swimming for their local clubs
at around 8 years old,
but usually will start no later than 12.
- There's a lot of club programs in the country.
In metropolitan area,
there's well over a hundred different programs.
And across the country,
you're talking about thousands of clubs.
Without club swimming, we wouldn't have an Olympic Team.
- [Narrator] They continue to compete for clubs
until they reach the collegiate level,
where many of them begin swimming
for Division 1 universities, and some continue both.
So, by the time kids reach the college level,
they've already spent 16 to $40,000 on club dues alone.
In 2019, USA Swimming had 412,000 members
in over 3,000 clubs who paid more than $22 million in fees.
They're the governing body of the sport,
responsible for organizing events
and recording official times for national rankings.
Registered members pay an annual fee of $60.
That fee allows swimmers to compete
in sanctioned competitions.
And one of those sanctioned competitions
are the Olympic Trials.
According to Coach Collins, some elite swimmers
might seek private coaching to be more competitive.
And depending on the coach,
private coaching can run a student
more than $1,000 per month.
Total expenses can vary widely from person to person.
USA Swimming estimates expenses for Olympic hopefuls
can be anywhere from 25 to $40,000
for proper coaching, equipment,
training and travel each year.
And depending on the swimmer's training program,
they may also need a budget for other costs
like a nutritionist, physical therapist,
or a gym membership.
The cost of competing in any non-NCAA competitions
that collegiate swimmers enter
will come out of their own pocket.
Swimmers who choose the collegiate route
get access to all the necessary amenities and facilities
they need, as well as physical therapists, trainers,
coaches, and doctors.
Olympians like Michael Andrew
chose to skip the collegiate route
to focus all their efforts on Olympic training.
However, that means the cost of their coaching,
training, travel, entrance fees and lodging is all on them.
- It is much harder to be an individual athlete,
training by yourself in reaching those top levels.
- [Narrator] Since 1978,
the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee
has not been funded by the US government.
So, US Olympians rely on grants and sponsorships
to offset the out-of-pocket costs for their training.
USA Swimming gives yearly stipends to top swimmers
on the National Team.
They also provide bonuses
for swimmers who make it onto the Olympic Team.
USA Swimming spends an average of $10 million per year
in support of National Team athletes.
And according to them, most Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls
make less than $20,000 a year.
Coach Collins says there are sponsored clubs
who can afford to pay their swimmers
to be a part of their team.
- 'Cause you need to have money to live,
you need money to train,
and you don't have that money.
Who's gonna help you do it?
- [Narrator] The cost of being an elite Olympic swimmer
is a full-time investment of training,
both in and out of the pool.
As in most professional sports,
the best athletes earn the biggest paychecks.
And in swimming, those paychecks come almost exclusively
in the form of large individual endorsement deals
and sponsorships.
(crowd clapping and cheering) (gentle music)