I’d think the cost of training far exceeds any worth of the medal. But once the endorsements kick in then it gets really positive for the athlete, as long as he/she is smart.
But what is you don’t win a medal but just minor prizes. Seems to me you could also deduct relevant expenses and run a loss. Hmmm.
With all of the corporate sponsors of these national teams, I would venture to guess that the cost of training is very small for many of these athletes. It’s probably a different story for minor sports that nobody pays any attention to.
There's only a few events that require private coaches such as the figure skating and gymnastics and they start out when they are mere children (and cost a fortune) before they even reach a level where they are national competitors....
I think the endorsements are a positive way to help out the athletes financially and not necessarily to promote a product.
I've always said the alpine sports are the most expensive of all and only a very small demographic can afford to even participate on a recreational level.
Looking at how basketball and baseball are available to virtually every kid in this country, just imagine what kind of alpine competitors we could develope if skiing were as readily and financially available.........
As a side note, both the Swiss and Austrians make skiing part of their grade school and high school gym programs.........