The high price of raising an Olympian

The expenses start early -- maybe when a child is in kindergarten -- and can total hundreds of thousands of dollars for parents of elite athletes. The rest of the family may pay a price, too.
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Olympic glory can be expensive.

But the investment has been worth it, at least for the Ali family.

David Ali knew his son Sadam had gifted hands way back when Sadam was 8 years old and dancing around the ring at the Bed-Stuy Boxing Club in Brooklyn, N.Y. That's why the family supported Sadam through 11 years of training, for about eight hours a day. That support helped the 19-year-old lightweight become the first New Yorker to make the U.S. Olympic boxing team since Riddick Bowe in 1988. See Sadam Ali in action

"It cost hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years," says David, a 46-year-old father of five who works in his family's real-estate company. "But I knew I was going to do whatever I had to make sure he followed his dream." Olympian's dad: 'Never again'

For so many young athletes and their parents, reaching for an Olympic berth is a fiscal, as well as a physical, challenge. Think about it: coaches, clothing, housing, food, travel and baby sitters for siblings.

And unlike in, say, China -- where state-sponsored training schools help support athletes -- the U.S. Olympic Committee is one of few national Olympic committees whose athletes do not receive government funding, says Nicole Saunches, a U.S. committee spokeswoman.

For many years, Olympic athletes weren't allowed to accept endorsements, prizes or corporate sponsorships to underwrite training or living expenses. That changed in 1978 with the adoption of the Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. And over the past 30 years, regulations have been changed several times to increase financial support for the athletes. In 1988, the Olympic Games began to allow professional athletes to compete. The payoff from a gold medal

Liberalization of the regulations has helped some athletes, but not all. Many families continue to face major financial challenges as they evaluate options for a young athlete.

Talk back: Would you pay to raise an Olympian?

"You want your child to be happy," says David Ali. "I did whatever I had to, to make sure he had everything he needed."

Sometimes expenses mount in ways that can be hard to predict.

Gymnast Shawn Johnson's parents, for example, took out a line of credit on their home and have used that money over the years to cover travel expenses. The debt has made a dent in the family finances, but that's a price parents seem willing to pay. Photo: See Shawn competing



The financial choices crop up the moment a parent notices a child's special talent.

Donna Williams, a high school teacher in Miami, could not have foreseen that her sprinter daughter Lauryn, now 24, would be an Olympian in track and field, initially in Athens four years ago and now this year in Beijing. But she knew Lauryn could run. Photo: See Lauryn in the '04 Olympics

"Lauryn used to run barefoot as a baby," her mother recalls. "She had the worst case of flat feet on Earth, but she was beating the other kids in the neighborhood, and I said, 'You should go on the track team.'"

When Lauryn Williams was 11, she began training with a community track-and-field group in her family's hometown of Detroit. That was relatively inexpensive. The bills started rolling in the next year, when she switched to the Detroit Cheetahs, a local track club.

"That's when we needed spikes, training shoes, entry fees," Donna Williams says. Not to mention travel fees, hotel expenses and meals.

Williams, a single mom while Lauryn trained, credits her friends and family for helping her finance her daughter's efforts. Photo: See Lauryn with her mom

"Lauryn's success is truly based upon the fact that it takes a village to raise a child," she says. "I have had an excellent, excellent base of friends who, when I said, 'We're going to a track meet, Lauryn needs a pair of shoes, I got $50 for a pair, and I need another $30,' somebody always stepped up to the plate and helped us out. Some days I didn't really have to ask. I would come home and find an envelope with $20 under the door. We all kind of pitched in."

When it came time to go to Athens, Donna Williams' best friend raised more than $10,000 to help Lauryn and her mother get there. Lauryn herself raised $10,000 so her father could go. As for China, Donna is paying for that trip with money left to her when her mother died.

"It was divine intervention," she says.

Some athletes get substantial support from corporate sponsorships. Lauryn Williams is one of 12 "Olympic Hometown Hopefuls" sponsored by Bank of America. The bank has been a corporate sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Team since 1992.

Like AT&T and Nike, the bank helps families with expenses as well. The Bank of America's Hometown Hopeful Family Center in Beijing is designed to support the families of Olympians with free lunches, dinners and snacks, as well as an Internet cafe and free event tickets. The center expects to host 600 families.

All told, the perks at the center could save a family of four about $1,700 a week, says Joe Goode, a Bank of America spokesman in Boston.

Support for the families can be important because a lot of the stress of an Olympic career falls on the family. It can be tough, says Jan Peck, the mother of Heather Mitts, a member of the U.S. women's soccer team that won a gold medal in Athens in 2004.

Mitts, now 30, started playing soccer in kindergarten, and it was clear even then that she had talent. Development of that talent had a major effect not only on the family finances but on Mitts' five siblings.

"It can be a strain on families, both financially and emotionally," says Peck, who lives in Cincinnati. "It can be perceived by the other siblings that one child is the favorite. And then other children may try to overachieve. The high level of competition also just consumes your every holiday. No longer can you enjoy Mother's Day or Father's Day or Fourth of July as a family, because you're always traveling.

"We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Heather," Peck recalls. "Tournaments, hotel accommodations, private lessons, food, travel, sitters for siblings or pets -- all those things cost money."

The family's sacrifices have paid off in a couple of ways. Mitts' athletic achievements have led to modeling gigs, commercials and TV reporting for ESPN.

"She's been one of those real fortunate that's done very well," her mother says.

That's the kind of future David Ali envisions for his son Sadam, the boxer. The family is committed. The trip to China will cost Ali $15,000 to $20,000 for three weeks, but he isn't blinking. He'll be there, cheering every hook, every jab, every uppercut from ringside.

What's $20,000 to witness something he's dreamed about for more than a decade?

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Ali says.

Return to the series home page

Published July 31, 2008

U.S. men sweep 400

BEIJING -- It was the most anticipated head-to-head clash of these Games and in the end it wasn't even close.

Powering to a one-step lead off the final bend, LaShawn Merritt forged onwards to an overwhelming victory to dethrone defending 400m champion Jeremy Wariner clocking 43.75, to cap yet another dramatic evening of competition at a sold-out National Stadium in Beijing.

In fact, Merritt's margin of victory, at 0.99 just under a full second, was the greatest in Olympic history.

"You don't become a champion without being mentally and physically tough," said Merritt, who at 22 is two year's Wariner's junior. "And you know what, I showed up and got it done."

After watching Merritt romp down the homestretch, there was no simply no debating that assessment.

"I actually focused on running on that back stretch," said Merritt, who improved significantly on his 43.96 career best set it Osaka last year when he finished second to Wariner. "I ran it like I wanted the gold medal. Like my roommate, Angelo Taylor. He ran it like he wanted to win."

Wariner, lined up in Lane 7, got out the fastest, building a marginal lead midway through the back straight. But in the meantime, Merritt, running in Lane 4, opened with a slightly more controlled tempo, running relaxed down the back straight and began to draw even midway through the final turn to enter the straight with a half step lead.

That was usually the point where Wariner begins to pull away. But this time, as was the case in his two other defeats to Merritt this year - in both occasions lined up to Merritt's outside, incidentally - he didn't.

Instead, it was Merritt who turned that narrow edge at the top of the straight into an insurmountable lead which he extended with each long powerful stride. Behind him Wariner was a shadow of his former self. Unable to respond, he began to fade gradually, but held on for second in 44.74.

Closing markedly faster as well was David Neville, whose finishing lean evolved into a dive. He nearly caught Wariner, but fell - literally - just a bit short in 44.80, to clinch the second consecutive U.S. Olympic sweep of the event.

"I felt good off the first 200, when I tried to move it just wasn't there," said Wariner, whose only slower performance in a final this year was his 44.82 in Melbourne in February. "If I could have had the race I had in the semi-finals, it would have been a closer race."

"I had to go in head first," Neville said. "It was a tough race at the end, but sometimes you have to dive in and give it your all."

Payne and Oliver Medal For US

David Payne and David Oliver took silver and bronze, respectively, for the United States. Payne crossed the line in 13.17 seconds and Oliver was just .01 seconds back in third.

After crossing the finish line, Payne found a television camera and said “5-1-3,” the Cincinnati telephone area code, repeatedly into the camera.

Payne and Oliver continued the run of Olympic success for the United States in the 110 hurdles three days after U.S. men swept the medals in the 400-meter hurdles.

For the sixth time since 1984, the U.S. won two medals in the 110 hurdles. The only time the Americans won fewer than two medals in that stretch was in 2004 in the Athens Summer Olympics when Terrence Trammel was the lone American medalist.

Trammel suffered a hamstring injury in the first round of competition here and was not able to advance, in the first round.

Sheena Tosta Shines in Silver at Olympics

BEIJING, China (WUSA) A Northern Virginia runner struck gold in Beijing.

Gar-Field High School graduate Sheena Tosta finished second in the 400 meter hurdles event. The Woodbridge native had a time of 53.70, one second behind winner Melanie Walker of Jamaica.

This is Tosta's first-ever Olympic medal. Tosta competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, where she finished fourth in the 400 hurdles.

Harper Wins Olympic Hurdles

American Dawn Harper sprung a huge surprise when a dramatic mistake by compatriot Lolo Jones let her through to win Olympic gold in the women's 100 meters hurdles on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old Harper fought back her own tears of joy after crossing the line in 12.54 seconds and admitted her victory was a shock.

"I always thought I was capable if I focused on myself. But for others, yes (it was a surprise)," she said.

"I just knew I needed to react to the gun, and just you know, head down, and focus on me and be quick and attack each hurdle and then head for the line."

Harper comes from the same city, East St Louis, as three-times Olympic champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee and is coached by the former heptathlete's husband.

"This is a kid nobody knew, now she is the Olympic champion. It's breathtaking," Bob Kersee said, adding that his wife had given Harper a pep talk last year when she was not running very well.

Americans Sweep 400 Hurdles

Angelo Taylor, the 2000 Olympic champion in the 400-meter hurdles, led a U.S. sweep in the event with his finish in 47.25 seconds, a personal best. Kerron Clement claimed the silver in 47.98 and Bershawn Jackson claimed the bronze in 48.06.

It was the first sweep in the event since the United States did it in 1960, according to the Associated Press.

Angelo Taylor won his second Olympic 400-meter hurdle title on Monday a full eight years after claiming gold in Sydney, leading the first American sweep in the event in 48 years.

Taylor won in a career best 47.25 seconds to defeat world champion Kerron Clement by .73 of a second with 2005 world champion Bershawn Jackson third in 48.06, edging Jamaican Danny McFarlane despite clipping the last hurdle.

"It was a great run," Taylor said. "I feel like I'm on top of the world right now."

After US struggles on the track, including Tyson Gay failing to reach the 100-meters final and a Jamaican medal sweep in the women's 100, the Americans finally won their first gold on the track at the Bird's Nest.

"To lead the sweep means so much," Taylor said. "We were talking about it before but had to do it. The USA hasn't had a great showing so far so we wanted to prove something."

Taylor matched countryman Edwin Moses by winning Olympic titles eight years apart in the event, Moses having achieved the feat in 1976 and 1984.

"It's an honour to be mentioned in the same breath as Ed Moses. He is a legend," Taylor said. "It has all been about keeping the faith and staying strong over the last four years,"

It was the fifth US Olympic podium sweep in the event, following medal trebles in 1904, 1920, 1956 and 1960.

"It means a lot," Jackson said. "Just to be a part of this great tradition is a blessing."

Taylor, 29, now shares eighth on the all-time 400 hurdles performer's list, just behind Clement and ahead of Jackson.

"It was great to see Angelo come back," Clement said. "It was a great performance."

Taylor, a member of the reigning world champion 4x400 relay, lost a 4x400 Olympic gold from the 2000 Olympics when the IOC stripped the medal from the US relay after doping admissions or punishments from three of the runners involved.

Only Taylor and Michael Johnson have not been implicated among the five who stood on the highest Sydney podium.

The sweep nearly died at the last gasp as Jackson bumped the final hurdle but held off 36-year-old McFarlane, the 2004 Olympic 400m runner-up and a member of the 2000 Olympic 4x400 gold medal relay.

"I wanted to win it pretty bad, but I made too many mistakes," Jackson said. "I messed up the last hurdle but I recovered pretty good."

Clement, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago but became a US citizen in 2005, had the fastest time in the world this year at 47.79 with Taylor second in 47.94 and Jackson third in 48.02 entering the showdown for gold.

"I'm pretty happy just to get the silver medal," Clement said. "We are the three best guys in the world and that's something I'm really happy about.

"I'm a little bit disappointed that I'm the reigning world champion and I didn't get the gold. I ran a hell of a race. Angelo ran a personal best. I can't complain."

boys hurdles | 07-08 most outstanding performers

This is the seventh of a series of DyeStat year-end awards for 2007-08. The DyeStat Most Outstanding Performers series, which follows the DyeStat Athlete of the Year awards, includes top honors for boys and girls distances, sprints, hurdles, jumps, throws, relays, and multi-events. Selections are made by DyeStat editors and are based a combination of multiple major victories/honors won and performances on all-time and yearly lists. Performances from outdoor track, indoor track, and cross-country are taken into account..

Text by Dave Devine - Photos by Vic Sailer, Kirby Lee and John Nepolitan

Booker Nunley





It’s a testament to the strength of North Carolina boys’ hurdling that 3 of the 4 2008 Most Outstanding Hurdlers are from the Tar Heel state. Booker Nunley may well have been the best of them all, but was ruled ineligible for much of the indoor season and the entirety of outdoors for failing to carry sufficient credits at Garner Magnet HS his senior year. Even though Nunley had enough credits to graduate as a senior, he mistakenly failed to register for the required amount to participate in athletics.

Watching from the outside, as stars like Wayne Davis II and Spencer Adams dueled at the North Carolina state meets, Nunley exacted his revenge in a breathtaking post-season run which carried him to US#1 in the 110 hurdles and runner-up at the World Junior Championships in Poland.

Nunley was among the nation's elite 55- and 60-meter hurdlers during his truncated indoor season, and third over 60H (7.78) to Davis and Colorado’s Michael Hancock at Nike Indoor Nationals (where he could compete unattached), but it was in the summer outdoor meets where he really hit his stride. Flying under the radar most of the spring, Nunley served notice he was back with a blistering US#1 13.40 (-1.0w) winner at the USATF Junior Nationals. That meet qualified him for World Juniors in Poland, but before departing for Bydgoszcz, Nunley added another 110H gold at the USATF Youth Championships in North Carolina in late June. Then, at the World Junior meet, he was a silver medalist with an impressive 13.45 (1.1 w) over the sticks.

Returning stateside, Nunley again took national laurels at a USATF meet, this time the Junior Olympics, where he ran a meet record 13.41 (1.4w) to beat Texas star Chance Casey and cap off his incredible summer campaign.

From One Parent To Another!

Written by Jackie Nunley

Well, we have come to the end of yet another track season and I have to say I am so thankful that we made it through. This year along with the victorious triumphs has not been without its pain and what sometimes felt like the agony of defeat. As one track mom put it to me when I started this journey 3 years ago with my sons we are not only parents but we are dream makers and facilitators for our children. As we prepare to send one son to the next level (college) and help the other son continue to grow on his current level. I have to say that as a parent you are your child’s best advocate and don’t let anyone fool you into thinking other wise. I don’t care what extracurricular activity your child decides to partake in you had better be ready to know all of the ends and outs from the administrative to the logistics of the activity. Speaking first hand I can tell you that in the end if your child doesn’t succeed to the best of his or her ability then it will fall back on you. I don’t mean to in anyway take away from the great coaches, instructors, teachers or administrators that are involved in your child’s life; if you are blessed to have them there. My sons have had and currently have some great coaches with regards to their athletics. However, they have also had 1 or 2 who only had their own interest in mind.

I say this not to discount all of the efforts of those who will play meaningful roles in your child’s life but to tell you not to leave anything to chance where your child is concerned. Know your local and state rules with regards to the academic and eligibility requirements of your child who participates in athletics. We were and are very active in our children’s academic and extracurricular lives however; an eligibility rule slipped by us and caused our son to miss the second half of his senior season. At no fault of his own in the end he was held solely responsible. Parents, Students and anyone who is close to a student that participates in athletics please alert them to know all of the rules that govern them; especially, those in their Junior or Senior year of high school.

As a result of what happened I have had many parents from around the country come up to me at meets and tell me that they have become more aware of the rules and that their schools have stepped up making sure that Parents and Students are more aware of all of the eligibility guidelines that affect all extracurricular activities. Our son was blessed he had already secured an athletic scholarship and with a strong support system outside of his school he was able to go on and compete and close out his senior track season during the summer with 3 National Championships and a Silver Medal from an international competition. However for many it sets them back and it is hard to recover from. I also heard from many of those families as well about how similar guidelines or eligibility rules had sidelined their children and how they lost their motivation or opportunities to advance to the next level. With my sons permission I am posting this bit of information on their blog so that it may help you the Parent and Student to be aware of the rules governing school athletics.

Below you will find links to some helpful sites and information.

http://www.nchsaa.org/
http://www.wcpss.net/athletics/ath0809.html#miss
http://www.wcpss.net/athletics/eligibility_requirements.html
https://web1.ncaa.org/eligibilitycenter/common/



2008-2009 HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Students interested in participating in high school athletics in the 2008-2009 school year should familiarize themselves with the following general regulations, academic and attendance requirements, and athletic policies.

Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for tryouts, practice, or participation in interscholastic athletic contests, a player must meet all North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) and Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) eligibility requirements and policies:
Age
• Must not participate if he/she becomes 19 years of age on or before October 16, 2008.
Attendance
• Must follow NCHSAA rules, which have an 85% attendance requirement (approximately 13.5 days) for the previous semester and includes all absences.
• WCPSS requires the athlete to be present the entire day in order to participate in activities or practices.
Academics
• A student, upon first entering grade nine (9), is academically eligible for competition on high school teams. All requirements must be met the first semester (fall) in order for this student to be eligible for athletic participation the second semester (spring).
• Must meet promotion requirements at their school to be eligible for the fall semester
• Must earn passing grades in five subjects, or three for block schedule schools, or six for schools on an A/B form of scheduling, during each semester in order to be eligible for participation during the succeeding semester.
• WCPSS also requires a cumulative overall grade point average of 1.5 or above.
Enrollment
• Must participate at the school to which he or she is assigned by the local board of education based on the residence of the parent or legal custodian within the administrative unit. The athlete must live with the parents or legal custodian. According to WCPSS Board Policy 6201 a “legal custodian” is a person or agency awarded legal custody of a child by a court of law.
• Must be a properly enrolled student in a member school of the WCPSS district, must be enrolled no later than the 15th day of the present semester, and must be in regular attendance at that school.
Medical Examination
• Must receive a medical examination once every 365 days by a duly licensed physician, nurse practitioner, or physician’s assistant.
• Must be released by a licensed physician if absent from athletic practice for five or more days due to illness or injury.
Other NCHSAA Requirements
• Must not participate at the high school level for a period lasting longer than eight consecutive semesters beginning with the student’s first entry into grade nine or participation on a high school team.
• Must not participate at the high school level for more than four seasons in that sport (one season per year).
• Must not be convicted of a felony in this or any other state, or adjudicated as a delinquent for an offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult in this or any other state.
• May not play, sit on the bench, or practice if ineligible.
• To maintain amateur status, the athlete must not accept money or awards having utilitarian value (golf balls, clubs, tennis rackets and balls).
• Must not have signed a professional contract, played on a junior college team or be enrolled and attending class in college.
Other WCPSS Policy
• May not participate in practice or play if assigned to In-School Suspension (ISS) or Out-of-school Suspension (OSS).
• May not participate at a second school in WCPSS in the same sport season.


Quoted by a Loving Mom
As a parent you either chase your child down doing good things or you will chase them down doing bad things. The choice is truly yours!