How much does it cost to create an Olympic athlete?

The long-running gap

The question is, then, is a successful athlete someone who can be invested in? Generally speaking, yes, as their success is dependent on resources and the access they have. And it's worth investing in for heads of state since it can result in giving a country clout in certain areas and on different levels.

“This is political, although countries sometimes seek to use elite level athletic performance as a means through which to project themselves around the world,” Simon Chadwick, a professor of sport and geopolitical economy at the Skema Business School in Paris, told The National.

The analysts and experts The National spoke to listed, in no particular order, Japan, the UK, China, Russia, the US, South Korea and Canada as countries that “make it big” on the global sports stage.

“When we talk about the gap between countries that can afford to train their athletes and those that can't, it's not just about money – it's like this big puzzle with pieces like financial resources, infrastructure, coaching expertise and support systems for athletes,” DeaHwan Cho, a Dubai-based South Korean physiotherapist, told The National.

“These nations, with their solid economies and well-oiled sports programmes, pour a tonne of resources into developing their athletes,” said Mr Cho, who owns TheraFit Physiotherapy in Dubai and has trained athletes.

The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee spent $327 million for athlete development in 2022, including $38 million for sport advancement and $67 million for the “amplification of athlete stories”, according to its website.

The UK, meanwhile, provided total funding of about £275 million ($349.2 million) for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and £27.4 million for the Beijing Winter Games, in addition to £67.7 million in athlete performance awards, data from the government-backed UK Sport shows.

Of course, not everyone will be granted funding – and if you are one of those who loses it, either you look for additional funding sources or band together.

“If you lose your funding due to a bad year before, you just have to make adjustments. I had one year where I lost funding and I got some part time work and I moved in some teammates so that my rent was less and there were people I trained with who did not have any funding at all,” Briton Sarah Lindsay, a three-time Olympian, told The National.

The speed skater was fully funded by the government, which provided $15,500 annually on the condition that she performed to a specific standard.

“We used to really look after each other and if one of us lost our funding, we all pitched in and helped by putting each other up so they didn’t pay rent.”

And for those who do not have access to funding, part-time jobs, conducting clinics and approaching family are some of the ways to keep their sports careers going.

“I haven't had any help from the government or tennis federations. From sponsors, it was just bonuses for ranking and results,” Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic, who peaked at No 69 in the World Tennis Association rankings, told The National.

Indeed, countries with larger gross domestic products tend to spend more on sports. But on the other end of that wide chasm, that may not be the case all the time: think East African runners, who have dominated long-distance events, as prime examples of those who excel despite adversity.

While not being able to take advantage of training programmes seen in more advanced nations, factors such as running to school as children and, subsequently, developing to improve their maximum oxygen intake have been cited as factors for their success, a 2006 study from the International SportMed Journal found.

This does contribute to a certain extent, but the debate on whether their advantages are the result of their genetics are still up for debate, the research suggested, with some corners believing that certain East African tribes have been “genetically selected for endurance performance through cultural practices such as cattle raiding”.

Indeed, circumstances like that can give aspiring athletes without the ideal resources a head start.

Medal reflection

The funding figures, for the most part, largely reflect how nations perform at the Games.

Excluding the ongoing Paris Olympics, the US has the most number of Olympic medals won with 2,985, Germany (1,083), the UK (965), France (910) and Italy (773), data from World Population Review shows. The former Soviet Union racked up 1,204.

The most decorated Olympian of all time, swimmer Michael Phelps – with 28 total medals, including 23 golds – is American.

Bonuses for winning medals are also a lucrative attraction. Italy handed out more than $9 million to its athletes that won medals in the last summer Olympics, leading 13 countries that shelled out seven-figure bonuses, data gathered by Forbes shows.

For the last Winter Games, it was Italy again that had the most expensive bill, giving away more than $2.7 million to its medal-winning athletes, the data revealed.

And in a first, on April 10, track and field’s governing body, World Athletics, announced that it will award $50,000 to gold medallists in Paris, becoming the first sport to introduce prize money at the games.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are countries that do not hand out incentives to successful athletes – the UK is one of them.

And not all bonuses are life-changing, such as in Pakistan, according to swimmer Ahmed Durrani, who at 18 years old, made his debut at the Paris Games.

“For bonuses during the national games, I believe it's 30,000 [Pakistani] rupees [$108] per gold medal and 50,000 rupees per national record,” he told The National.

Meanwhile, in the Middle East, Gulf nations in particular, are “learning how to play the game when it comes to the development of athletes”, Prof Chadwick said.

However, successes are still too infrequent and achievements are only coming in a very narrow range of sports, he stressed.

“If the likes of Saudi Arabia and the UAE want benchmarks, then the likes of Dutch or Spanish performances are amongst those to consider,” Prof Chadwick said.

The kingdom, through its Public Investment Fund, has embarked on a flurry of investments into sports, viewed as part of Riyadh's strategy to strengthen its national economic diversification agenda.

The Arab world's largest economy has delved into sports partnerships, including in tennis, golf, boxing and football, in which the kingdom's local professional league has reeled in big-ticket names such as Karim Benzema, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo, who reportedly signed the most lucrative deal in sports.

Meanwhile, the UAE in 2021 granted Dh24 million ($6.5 million) to its athletes who made sporting achievements in 2021.

The Emirates has also made its presence felt on the global sports stage, arguably the most well-known of which is the purchase of English football club Manchester City in 2008 by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, through Abu Dhabi United Group.

For Gulf countries, more success at sport's highest levels “is possible within the next decade, but to get anywhere near the US or China will take decades of commitment and spending”, Prof Chadwick said.

Having said that, the single biggest issue, then, is who funds: “Is it the government, the market, or athletes themselves, who cover the cost of their development?” he said.

Developing an attitude

In countries that could not afford to support their athletes financially, the desire and will to success will always be the number one factor in achieving success in sport, Duncan Ogilvie, an English former international and professional basketball player, told The National.

However, “those that are financially able to compete full time and get the best training resources will always have an easier path”, said Mr Ogilvie, who is now a strength and conditioning coach for basketball, boxing and track and field athletes at the London-based DoTraining and Performance.

The gap is significant. Countries with robust economies can invest heavily in state-of-the-art training facilities, technology and comprehensive support systems for their athletes.

This includes access to top-tier coaches, nutritionists, physiotherapists and psychologists.

In contrast, countries with smaller economies often struggle with limited resources, old facilities and less access to specialised coaching and medical support.

“This difference not only affects the quality of training but also the overall development and performance of athletes on the international stage,” Mr Paul said.

Still, that doesn’t mean the lack of resources is a hurdle to sports success all the time.

For instance, in the case of the Philippines, boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, the only eight-division world champion, and weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, the country’s first and only Olympic gold medallist by far, both started out in makeshift training grounds, having been raised in poverty.

Cinema has also driven home this point: the 1993 film Cool Runnings was loosely based on Jamaica’s first participation in bobsledding in the 1988 Seoul Games – despite the African country never having seen snow and the athletes lacking proper equipment.

“Yet, they became national heroes simply for their determination and spirit, showing that you can achieve great things even when the odds are against you,” Mr Cho said.

The success of athletes will boil down to their natural personalities and motivational styles, no matter what circumstances they are in, said Paddy Upton, a South African cricket and high-performance coach.

“Athletes who have all the opportunities, facilities and support often don’t develop the work ethic, dedication and problem-solving abilities required to make it at the highest level. They don’t make it because they are spoilt,” Mr Upton, who coached in the top tiers of Indian, Australian and Pakistani cricket leagues, told The National.

“On the other hand, you get athletes with minimal support and facilities … these athletes succeed because they are forced to be self-organised learners and are fuelled by self-motivation, rather than relying on being motivated by coaches.”

Demotivation, on the other hand, is also something that can rattle athletes. In Lebanon, where rowing is a relatively unknown sport, athletes can get chastised for participating in such activities that do not guarantee a brighter future, rower and coach Rodrigue Ibrahim said.

“There is always a lack of support and people who don't see you shining, but this is all because there is a lack of knowledge,” Mr Ibrahim, who did not qualify for the Paris Games, told The National.

“Instead of supporting you, they blame you for what you are doing [because] there is no money and income – you are losing your future.”

Scout or clout?

For athletes who already have the resources and backing, their name can be an added bonus.

One concrete and current situation is that of Bronny James – the son of NBA superstar LeBron James – who was drafted because of clout, being the child of the player most mentioned in the same breadth as Michael Jordan in the greatest-of-all-time debate. The younger James was eventually selected 55th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers.

An added intrigue was that the elder James had said on multiple occasions that he wants to play with his son; before signing a fresh deal with the Lakers, there was talk that he could bolt for the team that would draft Bronny James, if that did not happen to be the Hollywood's team.

Thanks to name, image and likeness deals, the younger James's net worth was reportedly estimated at about $10.5 million at the end of 2023.

LeBron James has a net worth of $1.2 billion and is only the third NBA player – and the first while active – to become a billionaire, after Jordan and Magic Johnson. Golfer Tiger Woods is the only other professional athlete with a 10-figure net worth.

Depending on your point of view, nepotism can either be good or bad, but it can no doubt “add value to a team or organisation”, Mr Ogilvie said.

“Can that player help us win? Can they develop into someone we can sell on and make money? Is their social presence going to add value to ticket sales or commercial deals?”

ESPN analysts have gone as far as saying that the younger James was the biggest name in the 2024 NBA draft – even if he wasn’t the best prospect.

“There will be many players that are better than him and more talented but he is LeBron James's son and that carries a lot of weight and commercial value for a team,” Mr Ogilvie added.

Prof Chadwick agrees, with an added twist: scouts still look for some degree of influence and bottom-line boosters – even political benefits.

“Scouts will look at behaviour, temperament, family [and] … nowadays, agencies are on the lookout for commercial potential as well; is the athlete someone who will generate commercial returns – perhaps political returns – as well as winning medals?”

However, experts agree that potential and raw talent are still the biggest factors when searching for athletes, in addition to personality, attitude, motivation, work ethic, mental toughness and emotional intelligence, among other traits.

“We also [have to] make sure that we let the talent understand the importance of goal setting, motivation, consistency and the ability of being able to work in a team, regardless if it's an individual sport or not,” Mr Paul said.

There is also the challenge of athletes seeking bigger paychecks and bigger competition in other countries.

For example, in the Philippines, where basketball is the most popular sport, players are now being lured by other professional leagues in Japan and South Korea that offer higher pay and more exposure to international competition.

“Athletes seeking better opportunities abroad due to limited focus or resources in their home countries is quite common,” Mr Cho said.

“Athletes will always go somewhere where they can get more funding, more opportunity, more resources and better competition,” Mr Ogilvie said.

He cited that basketball athletes in the UK will “always try and move to the US” for scholarship opportunities and better organisations and resources”.

“An average university facility in the US is of a very high level and much nicer than those in the UK,” he said, alluding to America's big-time college basketball scene.

“The very act of seeking greener pastures shows their determination and often it’s this determination, along with the new opportunities, that leads to their success,” Mr Upton added.