SYDNEY (AP) — A survey conducted by the Australian Sports Foundation determined that nearly half of the country’s best athletes are earning below the national poverty line threshold with an annual income of less than 23,000 Australian dollars ($15,000).
The foundation, which released the survey Wednesday, said that without increased financial support, Australia risks an exodus of top-tier talent ahead of major international events.
The ASF survey polled 2,304 athletes — 600 of them at the elite or international level — across 60 sports and highlighted financial pressures driven by increased costs of competing, particularly travel, as well as accommodation and equipment costs. Athletes also said they had difficulty generating income while focused on elite sport.
Two in three elite Australian athletes aged between 18 and 34 have considered quitting their sport, the survey found. One in two athletes aiming to compete in the 2026 Commonwealth Games have considered leaving their sport, as have 43% of those working towards the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane.
The survey found that more than 40% of the athletes were financially worse off than a year ago, and more than one in four experienced a decline in their mental health in the past 12 months.
Former Olympic and world champion swimmer Bronte Campbell, now retired, said the biggest costs she incurred during her career were injury-related, and while injury support was strong when it was there, costs soon started to outweigh the support received.
Australian athletes had to contend with financial pressures specific to them as well as pressures affecting the broader community including rent and mortgage prices, she said.
“If you win an Olympic gold medal, you get a medal bonus — which is not, as someone once asked me, a million dollars,” Campbell said. She won relay golds at each of the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Games.
“It’s a lot less than that,” Campbell said. “But trying to support yourself in between Olympics and in between times when you’re having those high performances … there’s definitely been years where if I hadn’t had success in the previous year, I don’t know how I would have made it work.”
Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll said the survey results bring a funding shortfall back to the individual level.
“Financial pressure, impacts on athletes mental health and the risks of athletes exiting their sports as a consequence, is of huge concern,” Carroll said. “We are working with the government and the Australian Sports Commission on a new sport investment model.
“As we look to the future, particularly Brisbane 2032, we cannot afford to see these inspiring young athletes walk away from their dreams.”
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