To be annoyed with the idolisation of Olympic athletes?

[Floogal]

Sick of this every 4 years. I am not against the Olympics per se. I like watching the judo, boxing, handball and volleyball. But these points explain why I find hero worship of athletes annoying.

1. People are very quick to moan about how footballers are overpaid for simply playing football. Or Connor McGregor being on benefits while training to be in the UFC. They are fair points, however Olympic atheltes paid a healthy income and have a lot of their expenses paid for.
2. Similar to the previous point, I hate the way they are lauded by the media and given honours for doing something that pays quite well and that they enjoy.
3. I remember last week we were watching ITV news. There was a feature about private sector carers being overworked and underpaid and how it impacts their personal lives. Later there was a documentary about Olympic athletes, many going on about sacrificing their leisure and family lives. Bit hard to feel sorry for them.
4. The government and media (as well as professional athletes) like to go on about how obese and unhealthy most people are. Well most people would love to only worry about excercise and nutrition, but SOME OF US HAVE TO WORK FOR A LIVING!
5. This point has been touched upon by the media and few recent MN threads. Many of the athletes come from affluent backgrounds!
6. The athletes featured on the Purple Bricks adverts come across as really unpleasant. Bit of a backfire.

What does everyone else think?

Helen Glover's boat mate Polly Swann is a junior doctor and worked for the NHS during the pandemic. Am I allowed to admire her please OP?
If you think that anyone outside of the household names that can command big sponsorship deals are earning a fortune from most Olympic sport you are very much mistaken. Those that are lottery funded are not living the high life. Gold medalist Greg Rutherford is on record explaining that despite winning an athletics gold medal he needed to try and bring in money from Strictly etc to "cash in" on his fame after 2012.
Athletes can have their funding cut at any time, a sport can drop down the funding list if it doesn't meet the arbitory targets so even if an individual performs to or above their expected level they can still lose funding if others in that sport fail to achieve.

@PRsecrets

What a load of rubbish

How so? There are many sports that are very expensive so have a natural barrier to entry. Rowing, tennis, Sailing, Equestrian, Polo, Rhythmic gymnastics, pentathlon, ski jumping. Other sports are very difficult to do around jobs because of the location of the training centres. Team GB athletes are 4 times more likely to be privately educated than the general public - for obvious reasons.

That’s because they very frequently win scholarships to top schools on the basis of their talent.

Begrudging this really is bitterness in the extreme!

That’s because they very frequently win scholarships to top schools on the basis of their talent

There are very few private schools offer scholarships for olympic sports. Most don’t even offer these sports. The only ones I know of are Millfield for swimming, and possibly Plymouth College.

There is no private school that offers scholarships for elite gymnasts, for example. They simply can’t offer the training.

When dc was looking for a scholarship they would likely have got one- although most are means tested as well. However the expectation was generally for school sport- not extra curricular.

I think some London girls schools have gym scholarships

Mount Kelly in Tavistock offer swimming scholarships. Sharon Davies started there and so did Robin and Paul Brew. Their dad, Archie, was Director of Swimming for the years I swam there.

🤣🤣🤣
Love the idea that all Olympic sportspeople have to worry about is exercise and nutrition.

I’m not sure how it's bitter to acknowledge the financial barriers to elite sport

Nice Strawman there!

It is bitter to disparagingly comment that so many elite athletes are privately educated, when this is usually because they have won scholarships, based on their talent.

It is bitter to disparagingly comment that so many elite athletes are privately educated, when this is usually because they have won scholarships, based on their talent

Can you back that statement up? We have the figures that a disproportionate amount of athletes come from private school backgrounds, but how do you know who is on a sports related scholarship?

Private schools are often the gateway to sports as they offer a wider variety and have better facilities than most comps, so it’s usually private school gets them into their sport rather than vice versa.

I think it is definitely true that celebrities get lauded more than people who work hard, achieve a lot but fly under the radar. I don’t think most famous, well paid actors etc are really working “hard” compared to most working people or badly paid and less known people in their own profession.
I think we idolise professional sports players too much and it’s crazy how much football players are paid etc… but I don’t think Olympians are really part of this problem. A lot reach the top of their field whilst holding down normal jobs too. A lot reach the top with minimal interest in them or their sport for most of the time.
There are the odd few who just become very famous, throw themselves into the celebrity circuit etc and I lose a bit of admiration for them there, but they are probably the minority.

Wonder if OP is still annoyed with the flurry of medals team GB have won over last few days!?!
🏅 😆

@gardeninggirl68

Wonder if OP is still annoyed with the flurry of medals team GB have won over last few days!?! 🏅 😆

Probably raging incoherently

@gardeninggirl68

Wonder if OP is still annoyed with the flurry of medals team GB have won over last few days!?! 🏅 😆

Yeah, they've become millionaires overnight. All of the undeserving blighters. 😂

@Floogal, I thought of you today, when the commentator on the women's tai kwan do mentioned that her and her mother loved for six months in a caravan to enable her to win the silver medal

I think that woman, and her mother, deserve all the " lauding" they get.

And the guy from Doncaster who won the silver in his tai kwan do event? Living pretty near to him, if be amazed if he had a private education, or many perks.

And even if they did have these advantages, this alone didn't allow them to succeed. Only talent and hard work can do that. One without the other doesn't work. I admire just about Any One who understands that they have a pretty rare talent, and then decided to work very hard to macromolecular talent.

The reason why high-level sportspeople tend to come from affluent families is that they are the ones who could afford to pay for all the training needed. It doesn't come cheap. I know a few families who are going without a lot to afford training for their kids who, at the end of the day, may never make it at that level anyway. There is no funding or pay for most athletes.

Can you back that statement up? We have the figures that a disproportionate amount of athletes come from private school backgrounds

That may be true of Team GB athletes, but there are many other teams at the Olympics from countries where that doesn't apply. Where I live sport is much more accessible to the masses, and private education not such a big thing.

Yabvu.
These athletes out in years of committed training,give up so much to achieve this level and they deserve to be acknowledged.
You have your opinion of course.You are so welcome to it you can keep it.

And even if they did have these advantages, this alone didn't allow them to succeed. Only talent and hard work can do that. One without the other doesn't work. I admire just about Any One who understands that they have a pretty rare talent, and then decided to work very hard to macromolecular talent

Actually - a problem in this country is that we may not necessarily identify and support sports people with the best talent. I’m not saying they’re very good - but those with talent may not have the facilities etc to make it all the way. Sport can be very elitist - that’s why you rarely get a wide range of backgrounds across all sports, only some.

I've known three people who have been competing in the Olympics. All WC background and mostly self funded. One is a male nurse in a clinic I've been going to for nearly ten years.

Sports participation in some areas has dwindled because of a lack of opportunity mainly due to cost. We've got more children than ever who can't swim. When I was a child there was a swimming baths within walking distance and even the kids from the poorer families could go. Swimming was free when my children were young. We do need a drive for affordable sport, but it won't happen under this government.

The Olympics is the pinacle of their sporting career, so all the “glamour” you’re seeing is because of the years of dedicated training and sacrifices to get there. Quite astounded how far OP has missed with this thread.

@PRsecrets

And many athletes come from affluent backgrounds for the same reasons many actors do. For the majority of people, you cannot maintain the level of delusion required to reach Olympic sporting success/ hollywood acting success, while also in poverty. So unless bank of mummy and daddy support them, many talented athletes have to realise their dreams won't come true because they don't have the financial backing necessary.

It isn't. My son was on and elite development squad and he couldn't carry on because it needed one of us not to work. To get on he needed to compete abroad as well as all over this country. It was an individual not team sport and at sites not served by public transport so one ofus needed to take him as a junior every single time. One of his peers on the squad who he used to beat was from a wealthy family who could afford to do that - he has won Olympic gold. Even without commercial sponsorship to cover competition costs we just couldn't afford the time.

OK, I've been involved with rowing for years and can tell you that it is socially mixed.
At junior level it's clubs like Runcorn, Warrington, Northwich and Birkenhead who excel. Kids fees at our club are around £50 per year and if families say they can't afford that, it is waived.
Hundreds of kids start off at our place but few carry on, funnily enough, getting up at 5am to row down a frozen river 4 times a week, shedding your hands and being in pain, isn't for everyone.
Yes private schools do it too but they are often easily beaten

What does everyone else think?

I tbi I you were knee deep in a bottle of wine and having a weird random rant.

I find it really sad that people think Olympians shouldn't be looked up too, when in fact, they've worked bloody hard to get to where they are. With a full time job usually. They do it because they are passionate about the sport they do and I would be thrilled for my son to look up to them. It's dedication, hard work and talent that got them there.