Elena Mayers Taylor on how Olympic athletes rely on corporate sponsorships

My husband and I and hundreds of others wear "Team USA" uniforms, so people assume that the U.S. government funds us.  Not so.  Most American Olympians work full time or part time in addition to their Olympic training.  And we all depend on companies to pay for training, equipment and competition fees.  

For my family and many others, sponsor support isn't a bonus or nice-to-have - it's a need-to-have.  One example: In 2020, sponsor support enabled me to take time to have a child.  If you're a competitive athlete, not competing means not earning prize money - there's no "paid parental leave" on the bobsled circuit.  Because we saved some of our sponsor funds from the last Olympics, I was able to give birth to my son and take time to recover.

~ Elena Mayers Taylor, American bobsledder and winner of two Olympic medals in Beijing, "Is Eileen Gu a Traitor to America? | American Expat Shares the Truth," Cyrus Janssen video, 2:30 mark, February 10, 2022