For Decathlete, Gold Medal Has Little Payoff (NYT)

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For Decathlete, Gold Medal Has Little Payoff

GLENDORA, Calif. — The world’s greatest athlete, as he is often called, pulled a cardboard box from a shelf in the one-car garage of his three-bedroom home. It held his mementos from the Beijing Olympics, not counting the Wheaties boxes with his picture on them stacked on the kitchen counter.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/sports/olympics/02clay.html?hp

[Taliban]

Very nice article! Very well written.

[knite]

Nice read, he's got a level head and hasn't placed his own personal accomplishments over what makes him who he is.

Classy indeed!

[nbonaddio]

That bit about the SPARQ test blew my mind. How much fame and fortune could he have if he had gone down a different route?

[cacique]

i saw that last night. people who mistake him for tiger woods must be blind. they look nothing like each other.

it's sad that the world's greatest decathlete can barely make a living.

[sprintblox]

it's sad that the world's greatest decathlete can barely make a living.

He's not "barely making a living", he has a "comfortable income" from his sponsors, as indicated on the first page of the article. He's just not making millions like a baseball or basketball player would, and will have to find another job to pay the bills when his athletic career is over.

[Marlow]

it's sad that the world's greatest decathlete can barely make a living.

He's not "barely making a living", he has a "comfortable income" from his sponsors, as indicated on the first page of the article. He's just not making millions like a baseball or basketball player would, and will have to find another job to pay the bills when his athletic career is over.

Yeah, but he's got the love and admiration of all of us, so he's got that goin' for him.

[bad hammy]

it's sad that the world's greatest decathlete can barely make a living.

He's not "barely making a living", he has a "comfortable income" from his sponsors, as indicated on the first page of the article. He's just not making millions like a baseball or basketball player would, and will have to find another job to pay the bills when his athletic career is over.

Part of the 'T&F is a sixth-rate sport' story. A man in his position should be on easy street.

Interesting, for some reason there was a NYTimes on my driveway today (never happened before) so I read this story in print.

[Speedfirst]

it's sad that the world's greatest decathlete can barely make a living.

He's not "barely making a living", he has a "comfortable income" from his sponsors, as indicated on the first page of the article. He's just not making millions like a baseball or basketball player would, and will have to find another job to pay the bills when his athletic career is over.

Welcome to the real world.

[Marlow]

Part of the 'T&F is a sixth-rate sport' story. A man in his position should be on easy street.

Ya gotta wonder what his agent is doing. Without totally prostituting himself, you'd think there'd be revenue avenues (I'm rappin'!) that could keep him in the upper-comfortable bracket. Jenner certainly milked it and O'Brien seems to be doing OK - well, except for the hopscotch thing! :P

[gm]

Interesting, for some reason there was a NYTimes on my driveway today (never happened before) so I read this story in print.

At the new per-issue price they are charging, James Earl Jones should have been there to read it to you :lol:

[gh]

....
Ya gotta wonder what his agent is doing. Without totally prostituting himself, you'd think there'd be revenue avenues (I'm rappin'!) that could keep him in the upper-comfortable bracket.....

I wouldn't think that at all. Where do you get these strange ideas about the marketing of the sport and its people that are so diametrically opposed to reality?

[vip]

I don't have much sympathy for Bryan Clay in this economy; people are suffering everywhere and losing jobs, so I didn't shed much of a tear.

I would, however, give him and other track athletes some advice: Get your degree while you're in school. While basketball and football stars may not need it, you will. Jenner came along in a different day and age and he fully exploited the TV opportunities that followed mainly because of his looks and all-American image, whatever that means. He had no true entertainment talent (humor, acting, etc.); he was just a pretty face and well spoken. Plus, everyone says gold medal decathletes should be bankable, but other than Jenner, name me 2 others who raked tens of millions.

A track star who wants to make a living in the public eye today definitely needs a magnetic personality, which goes over well with an otherwise disinterested public, and lots of luck. I'm not sure Clay, who seems like a nice enough guy, has or had either.

Maybe Clay should have prepared himself for a post-Olympic career by getting experience in TV announcing, to cash in on fame, or sports management, if he was the brainy type in college.

Said it before, will say it again: The only way a track star will reach the level of a Tom Brady or LeBron James is if he's a good looking white American sprinter with a great personality who wins the Olympic 100 meters. Twice.

[sprintblox]

Said it before, will say it again: The only way a track star will reach the level of a Tom Brady or LeBron James is if he's a good looking white American sprinter with a great personality who wins the Olympic 100 meters. Twice.

No. The only way a track star will get as big as that is if 100 million Jamaicans immigrated to America.

However, I don't think it is too much to ask that the powers that be in the track game get their act together so a decathlon gold medalist can make half as much money as the sixth man on an average NBA team.

[einnod23]

Good read.

While folk like myself are complaining about the state of the sport, Clay seems to be cool with things and is very humble about it. He seems very reluctant to draw attention to "look at me, look at me". However, in order to jump-start his foundation, he had to put his name out there a bit. Once again, good read!