Let's say somebody wins a GOLD medal at the Olympics. What difference does it make to their lives?

Question

How important is it, really? I mean, at the end of the day they would have to make a living. Now sure, somebody like Phelps would have no problem, but there are so many people who earn a medal, every four years, that it doesn't really make them that special. They are just among many others.

They spend a lot of time preparing for the Olympics, when they could have spent it on an education to make a living. How important will be 10 years from now? 15 years?

It just seems as though they become forgotten by the general public.

Answer 1

They probably get a bonus from their home countries OC. If they are in a small country they gain notoriety. For example, an Indian guy (forgot name) won a shooting medal and received many gifts and marriage proposals.

Answer 2

Well it depends the sport where they win the medal in, if its something like baseball or kayaking then they i guess nothing really changes in their lives in a big way but if they win a medal in a sport in swimming or gymnastics the person becomes famous cause those are much bigger sports so the whole world knows of that person and they get paid millions in endorsements deals..

Answer 3

publicity for the time being  

Answer 4

Being one of the select 2000 or so in the biggest event in the world to compete at something you love on the absolute biggest stage of the world every 4 years is very special.

The training is something to feel special about.

During those 4 years while everyone is going about paying attention to pretty big news like tornados, murders, the climate, celebs, movies, etc etc etc etc etc.

That special feeling you get during the 4 years you train is so vibrant because you know you are doing something for something BIGGER. MUCH BIGGER than anything anyone else is paying attention to.

and when the Olympics arrive. You although may not be the Phelps, Bolts, Liukins, Johnsons, but they are Olympians just like yourself.

It's the highest platform to be on even though it only lasts a little more than 2 weeks, during those 2 weeks nothing is bigger nothing is more important than the Olympiad that you are apart of that almost nobody by comparison to the world population is apart of.

It's that Ultimate. It's that Special.

Answer 5

Sure, it is forgotten by the general public, but friends and family and everyone they meet for the rest of their lives will surely be in awe of a champion.

I'm sure it wouldn't hurt a resume, either. Are you a dedicated, hard-worker who can work well under pressure?  

Answer 6

A friend of my father's is a gold medallist from many years ago.

It did make a lot of difference in his life, because when he returned to Australia he got a lot more respect for his sport and people recognised him as an Olympian.

In those days there were not a lot of endorsements or so on, because the Olympics was an amateur thing, but he was invited to all the local mayoral dinners, met the Queen and gained prominence in his local community.

He used that to start a weekend school teaching kids his sport, and that also led to people thinking well of him.

His business prospered because of his good reputation and he built on it to do quite well for himself.

And of course, whatever happened in his life, he was always able to know within himself that he had beaten the best in the world at the thing he did best. Imagine how full of confidence that would make one feel!

Anyway, I guess if he'd been a dead beat and just came home and bragged etc, he wouldn't have done so well, but if the Olympians are hard working, honest people, who want to contribute, I do think it can make a difference in their lives in a positive way.

Cheers :-)

Answer 7

more money and some extended 15 minutes of fame.. Oh They can make tons of money in short period of time..  

Answer 8

You'll have the memories of a time that you actually lived and at the top of the world. How important is it to be like everybody else 50 years from now when you reflect on your life?

Answer 9

Chances are they will become very popular afterwords, get sponsorships, gifts, and other things like that. And if they still wanted to get a education afterwords, I'm sure any collage would be glad to accept them.

Answer 10

he will alaways have the right to say i have a gold and publicity for like a month or two

but from like 10 years nothing hes just a loser