00:00Why are so many athletes asking for financial support at the Winter Olympics?
00:09At least 19 athletes had to turn to crowdfunding just to get to the starting line at the Winter
00:14Olympics kicking off this week in Italy. They need help with basics like equipment,
00:20travel and even tickets to the competitions themselves. Take Cormac Comerford,
00:25the first Irish male athlete to compete in all four alpine disciplines. He raised more than 3000
00:31euros on GoFundMe for mandatory safety gear after the introduction of stricter safety rules.
00:37Sometimes the reasons are more personal. Valentina Asic, Croatia's short truck skater,
00:43wants her family with her in Milan for the biggest moment of her career. The tickets are,
00:47in her words, extremely expensive, up to 450 euros per person for a single event and a
00:54single day. Her supporters' generosity has already granted her 7,000 of the 8,000 euros needed,
01:02but the need for support stretches far beyond Europe too. Jamaica's iconic bobsled team has
01:09had to resort to GoFundMe this year to safeguard its very existence. Canada's cross-country skier
01:16Remi Drolet receives zero government funding due to bureaucratic reasons and now risks being 25,000
01:22dollars out-of-pocket to pay for things like training, early season racing and cost of living.
Comments