A U.S. Olympic gold medalist’s journey from a $200,000-a-year sponsorship at 20 to a $12-an-hour internship by 30
Even for Olympic gold medalists, financial security is not guaranteed. Just ask Lauryn Williams. The Olympic track and bobsled champion earned $200,000 annually at the age of 20, yet by 30, she was working as an intern for $12 an hour.
Despite being the first American woman to win medals in both the Summer and Winter Olympics, her post-Olympic opportunities were limited.
“There’s this misperception that because I’m the first to do this—and still no one else has done it—I’m booked throughout the year for speaking engagements,” she told . “I get some opportunities here and there, but I can’t make a living from them.”
“The news coverage arrived, but the sponsors didn’t. I made $80,000 the year I became the first American woman to medal in the Summer and Winter Olympics.”
That’s why, despite making sporting history, she had to start over. In 2013, Williams entered the world of white-collar work as an intern at Briaud Financial Advisors, as per her .
“I was behind because I was 30 years old and just starting, while I had friends who were already doctors and lawyers and well into their careers,” she added. “I spent my entire 20s competing, so I felt somewhat insecure that I didn’t have any real work knowledge.”
Although she was initially rejected for a job at the firm, she said the owner decided to hire her after learning about her impressive background.
Poor financial advice motivated her career change
Even when Williams was earning $200,000 in sponsorship from , she said her agent took a 20% cut, and then there were taxes.
“The money doesn’t go as far as people think, even though it was a pretty good living for a 20-year-old,” she emphasized.
“I had a 10-year career, so it set me up better than the average person by the time I was 30. But it also didn’t provide me with the income to relax forever and never have to do anything again.”
Perhaps it would have been a different story if she had received good financial advice—and that’s precisely what inspired her second career move.
“I did a search after having a second financial advisor who didn’t work out and found CFP coursework,” she said. “I enrolled in it without much thought, simply because I wanted to better understand finances for myself.”
After two unsuccessful attempts to pass the CFP exam while interning, Williams finally passed in 2017.
Now she is a CFP Board Ambassador, helping athletes make wise decisions about their money through her firm Worth Winning.
Many gold medal-winning athletes don’t earn $100,000 a year
Having now advised various sports stars, Williams knows her experience is quite typical.
The Philippines’ first male Olympic gold medalist in history, Carlos Yulo, may be set with , over $200,000 in cash and a lifetime supply of ramen along with his medals.
However, for most athletes, a plan B is crucial.
“From a sponsorship perspective, I’ve had multiple gold medal-winning athletes as clients who didn’t compete in ‘premiere’ sports and weren’t making $100,000 a year after everything was accounted for,” she said.
“There are those who you would consider the headliners of the Olympic games, who are in commercials and such, and who will be able to retire and never work again if they manage their finances appropriately,” she added.
“But the vast majority of people will need to work.”
A version of this story was originally published on on August 22, 2024.
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