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When you watch Olympic athletes compete on the world stage, it's easy to assume they're living the dream full-time. But here's the reality check: for most winter Olympians, that gold medal chase comes with a day job attached.
The Financial Reality Behind the Medals
"I have two full-time jobs," Team USA curler Korey Dropkin told a local Minnesota TV station. "One is curling… my other job is a realtor."
His mixed doubles partner, Cory Thiesse? She tests wastewater for mercury levels at an environmental lab. And they're far from alone.
Here's the thing: the International Olympic Committee doesn't actually pay athletes to compete. Instead, they redistribute about $4.2 million per day to National Olympic Committees and international federations, who then decide how to support their athletes.
In the US, that support comes mainly as medal bonuses—$37,500 for gold, $22,500 for silver, $15,000 for bronze. But here's the catch: you only get paid if you medal. For athletes in less glamorous sports like curling, biathlon, or skeleton, that's often not enough to make rent.
When a Monthly Stipend Doesn't Cut It
Artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez once survived on a $250 monthly Team USA stipend while working retail shifts at a sporting goods store. Even when that stipend jumped to $1,900 a month, she described the stress of staying "focused and dialed in on Olympic training" while rushing to work after marathon pool sessions.
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Meanwhile, other countries take different approaches. In Italy, many top athletes are formally employed by military and police sports groups—essentially putting Olympians on the government payroll. UK athletes receive National Lottery-funded performance awards to cover living and training costs.
Team USA is trying new solutions, like a recent $200,000 total benefits donation from financier Ross Stevens. But that money comes after the Games, not during the years when athletes are paying for travel, coaching, equipment, and lost work hours.
Until the system changes, Olympic dreams will continue to be built on the foundation of a steady paycheck. Here are 15 athletes who prove it.
Meet the Olympians with Impressive Side Hustles
Ryan Cochran-Siegle: Silver Medalist & Maple Syrup Maker
Fresh off winning silver in the super-G at the 2026 Olympics (his second Olympic silver), 33-year-old Cochran-Siegle spends his off-seasons at his cousins' maple syrup farm in Vermont. He's been doing it since he was 18.
"It's less of a job and more of a way to come home and help out with my cousin's family business," he told NBC. "It's also a great way to be productive while spending time outside in the woods with family."
Oh, and he's also a part-time engineering student at the University of Vermont. No big deal.
Korey Dropkin: Real Estate Agent Turned Silver Medalist
Remember Dropkin, the curler we mentioned earlier? After winning silver in mixed doubles curling at the Milano Cortina Games, the 30-year-old can add "Olympic medalist" to his real estate license.
He started curling at age 5 in Massachusetts, moved to Duluth to train, and became a licensed realtor working across northern Minnesota and Wisconsin while competing internationally. Talk about multitasking.
Cory Thiesse: Lab Technician by Day, Curling Champion by Night
Thiesse's silver medal story has a sweet twist: her boss at the environmental lab where she tests wastewater? That's her mom, who's also a former competitive curler.
"That really helps get time off to go compete, and I just feel really grateful to have a job that pays the bills while I'm able to go and compete in curling," the 31-year-old told reporters.
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Paige Jones: Ski Jumper & Future Dentist
This 23-year-old ski jumper juggles Olympic training with online coursework in biomedical engineering at the University of North Dakota. After graduation, she's planning to pursue dentistry.
"I always think of school as balance to my life as an athlete," she explained. "It gives me something to think about when I'm not on the hill. I don't want to be ruminating about ski jumping all the time—it's so easy to get in your head, especially when the jump only lasts about five seconds."
Smart strategy, honestly.
Morelle McCane: The Birthday Clown Who Became an Olympian Boxer
This one's wild. Cleveland-born boxer Morelle McCane, 31, worked as a daycare supervisor, a mailroom worker, and yes—a birthday party clown—while training for the Paris Olympics.
"You just have to find what you can for the moment sometimes," she told the Houston Chronicle, explaining that better-paying employers typically want longer commitments than an Olympic training schedule allows.
The Dental Duo: Tara and Tabitha Peterson
These curling sisters are keeping Minnesota smiles bright between competitions. Tara, 34, works as a dentist in White Bear Lake. Her older sister Tabitha, 36, is a pharmacist and captains Team USA's curling program.
"I've gotta get some hours in and get a paycheck," Tabitha told reporters, adding that both curling and pharmacy require "intense focus and attention to detail."
Their parents? Also a dentist and dental hygienist. It runs in the family.
Keely Cashman: Your Friendly Neighborhood Olympic Barista
Before competing in Milan, 26-year-old alpine skier Keely Cashman was pulling espresso shots at her family's coffee shop in Strawberry, California—a tiny town of about 80 people.
"I try to be someone who can show the kids that you don't have to come from a fancy academy to make it to the Olympics," she told one reporter. The coffee shop provided steady work between competitions and injuries, proving you can chase Olympic dreams from anywhere.
Austin Florian: Aerospace Engineer on Ice
The 31-year-old skeleton racer didn't grow up sliding headfirst down icy tracks—he was a ski racer in Connecticut before discovering skeleton at Clarkson University in Upstate New York.
After graduating with an engineering degree, Florian worked in manufacturing engineering while pursuing national team status. By the time he qualified for the 2026 Games, he'd become an elite starter without giving up his day job in aerospace.
Bradley Wilson: The Moguls Skier Who Paints
This Montana native competed in three Olympics (2014, 2018, and 2022) and found a creative way to fund his skiing career: selling paintings.
"Like most sports, skiing has an offseason and I had to stay productive," he wrote on his website. "So during the summer in Park City I started to play around with painting and, like my ski career, the art started to progress and began to take off."
In 2022, he was selling pieces for roughly $100 to several hundred dollars. "It has been a huge help to pay for my expenses in my ski career."
Chris Plys: Curler & Food Brokerage CEO
Chris Plys' story is particularly moving. After serving as an alternate at the 2010 Vancouver Games, his father died of cancer in 2012. Plys left college to take over the family's food brokerage business.
"It was the first major thing that I had gone through after the Olympics, and I just was forced to grow up fast," the 38-year-old Duluth native told USA Today.
He returned to compete at the 2022 Beijing Olympics while running the company—talk about resilience.
Kimi Goetz: Finance Worker, Speedskater, and Cookbook Author
The New Jersey native balanced international speedskating competition with a part-time role as a processor at a finance company. At Beijing 2022, she finished seventh in the 1,000 meters.
But wait, there's more: in 2019, Goetz self-published a cookbook called "Mindful Meals," chronicling her move to Salt Lake City and learning to cook while training at an elite level. She's since racked up six World Cup victories and back-to-back World Championship medals.
Lea Ann Parsley: Firefighter, Olympic Silver Medalist, Then Nurse
Before women's skeleton even existed in the Olympics, Lea Ann Parsley was responding to emergency calls in Ohio as a professional firefighter. In 1999, she was named Ohio's Firefighter of the Year after helping rescue a mother and daughter from a burning home.
Around the same time, she was making history in skeleton, becoming the first American to win a World Cup medal in the sport. At the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, she won silver in the first-ever Olympic women's skeleton race.
After retiring from competition, she earned a nursing degree and built a career in healthcare and emergency response. Full-circle hero energy.
Susan Dunklee: Environmental Scientist & Biathlon Champion
Vermont native Susan Dunklee built one of the most successful American biathlon careers while studying and working in environmental science. As part of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project in Vermont, she promoted sustainability alongside endurance sports.
"I'm involved with a lot of the environmental work, helping out in the gardens, monitoring the water quality in the local lake, and teaching local kids about living a sustainable lifestyle," she explained.
The three-time Olympian and World Championships silver medalist has been vocal about the financial realities of competing in one of the least commercialized winter sports in the US. After retiring from competition following the 2022 Beijing Olympics, she became the running director for the Craftsbury Outdoor Center.
Alex Deibold: From Wax Tech to Bronze Medalist
This might be the ultimate underdog story. In 2010, Alex Deibold attended the Vancouver Olympics as a technician for the US snowboardcross team—waxing, tuning, and preparing boards for other athletes.
Four years later, he returned to Sochi not as staff, but as a competitor. And he didn't just compete—he won bronze in snowboardcross, completing one of the more unlikely Olympic arcs in recent memory.
He retired from competitive snowboarding in 2023, but his story remains an inspiration for anyone who's ever been told they're "just" support staff.
These athletes represent the reality behind the Olympic dream: it's not just about talent, dedication, and years of training. It's also about finding creative ways to pay the bills while pursuing excellence.
From maple syrup makers to birthday clowns, from dentists to firefighters, these Olympians prove that the path to the podium rarely looks like what we see on TV. They're not just champions—they're working professionals who refuse to let financial reality stand between them and their dreams.
And honestly? That might be the most Olympic thing about them.