Olympic gold medalist went from earning Rs 2 crore pa to Rs 1,000 per hour: 'Felt kind of insecure'

American Olympic gold medalist Lauryn Williams said after her success, 'The news coverage came, but the sponsors didn’t.' (File photo)

Olympic gold medalist Lauryn Williams went from earning about $200,000 (about Rs 2 crore) a year in sponsorship income at the peak of her athletic career to working as an intern earning $12 an hour (about Rs 1,000) when she turned 30.

Williams, a US track and bobsled athlete, is the first American woman to win medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympics — a rare sporting feat that brought widespread media attention but failed to deliver long-term financial stability. “The news coverage came, but the sponsors didn’t,” she told Fortune. She also rubbished assumptions that Olympic success ensures lifelong earnings.

At 20, Williams was earning six figures annually through sponsorship deals, including with Nike. But, she said a 20 percent cut taken by agents, along with taxes and short career spans, meant the income did not stretch as far as commonly believed. In the year she achieved her historic Olympic milestone, Williams earned just $80,000 (about Rs 72 lakh), despite global accolades.

By 2013, after retiring from elite sport, Williams entered the corporate world as an intern at a Houston-based financial advisory firm, Briaud Financial Advisors. At the time, she was earning $12 an hour and competing with peers who were already well into professional careers.

“I spent all of my twenties competing,” she said, adding that the lack of conventional work experience left her feeling behind and insecure. Initially rejected, Williams said she was later hired after the firm’s owner learned more about her background.

Her struggles with poor financial advice during her athletic career prompted Williams to pursue certification as a financial planner. After failing the exam twice, she qualified in 2017 and now runs Worth Winning, a firm focused on helping athletes manage money and plan post-sport careers, Fortune reported.