Financial struggles "are hardly unusual for would-be Olympians," but leading Alpine skiers "from wealthy countries like the United States are generally well-funded by their national federations and able to focus their energies on making it through the gates in a hurry," according to Christopher Clarey of the N.Y. TIMES. Independence has "sometimes been an option for the stars." U.S. skier Bode Miller "once operated independently from the U.S. Ski Team." U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association Exec VP Luke Bodensteiner said that the NGB "funded, or partly funded, about 50 Alpine athletes, with a strong emphasis on the elite with medal-winning potential and on the most promising youngsters on the developmental teams." However, U.S. skier Megan McJames "did not fit into either of those categories" in '12. An Olympian four years ago in Vancouver, she "lost her ski sponsor." Bodensteiner said, "The process is pretty demanding on athletes, and there’s no question it can be, at times, a harsh process because what can happen is you have very, very good athletes who just don’t qualify for the team or the support we provide." There also are "independent cross-country ski racers" from the U.S. The USSA "still makes resources available" to McJames, including its "elite training center in Park City." Her hotel costs "are covered during World Cup events by the International Ski Federation, and she is usually assigned to the same hotels as the American team." But she "remains an outsider" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/18).
ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN: In Toronto, Kerry Gillespie notes Canada’s luge team, which "found itself just off the podium in fourth an astonishing three times over, were quick to say that those results left them in a vulnerable position with the nation’s elite sport funding program." Canadian Luge Association High Performance Dir Walter Corey said, "It’s a bit of a gamble to see where we sit." Gillespie writes, "That a team that has performed leaps and bounds better here than they’ve ever done in an Olympics before is worried about their financial future shows how medal-focused Canada’s sport funding has become" (TORONTO STAR, 2/18).
