Paris Olympics 2024: American athletes forced to rely on GoFundMe to participate in Games

Paris: There is the table tennis player who didn’t get enough financial support back home. The discus thrower who couldn’t make rent. The badminton player who needed help to continue her journey to Paris.

Several dozen athletes have used crowdfunding to help pay for their costs to prepare for the 2024 Olympics and compete in France, with GoFundMe saying more than $2 million was raised worldwide in the run-up to the Games.

American discus thrower Veronica Fraley raised more than $23,000 on GoFundMe, with most of the donations coming after she posted on X that she couldn’t pay her rent and entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian and rapper Flavor Flav decided to help, attracting more attention — and more funds — to her cause.

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Badminton player Jennie Gai got nearly $22,000 to help in the preparations for her mixed doubles participation in Paris.

“This absolutely wouldn’t have been possible without everyone’s support,” Gai said on her GoFundMe page. “Your donations relieved a lot of financial burden in planning our tournaments and training, which allowed me to focus fully on the Olympic race. I am incredibly grateful for each and every one of your contributions.”

American table tennis player Kanak Jha raised more than $30,000 to help cover the costs for training, travel, accommodation and hiring a private coach.

“I started to GoFundMe just to participate in these Games. And I’m really grateful for everyone who supported,” Jha told The Associated Press. “Everything given there was spent solely on the preparation for here, so just really grateful to have that support.”

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Jha, who trains and competes mostly in Germany because he said it’s “financially impossible” to be a professional table tennis player in the United States, secured the U.S. its best Olympic run in the men’s tournament by reaching the last 16 at the Paris Games.

Kanak jha having to do a GoFundMe to go to the Olympics... For usa... USA table tennis association what r u doing man https://t.co/nLtSNtkepI pic.twitter.com/0OCIGbEprd

— donutpeach (@donutpeach1212) August 2, 2024

“The idea came solely for the purpose of preparation for the Paris Olympics and then for the Games,” he said. “Table tennis is a very global sport. We’re traveling a lot. We’re going to many tournaments, many training camps. So financially it’s not so cheap at times.”

Among the international athletes who sought crowdfunding support was 16-year-old Australian break dancer Jeff Dunne, who raised more than $20,000 for his preparations, and Tonga’s first female Olympic boxer, Feofaaki Epenisa, who got more than $10,000 in the run-up to Paris.

Former U.S. hurdler Lashinda Demus raised $21,700 to bring her family to Paris to watch her receive a gold medal she was denied 12 years ago. Demus originally won the silver medal in the 400 meter hurdles in London 2012, but she was upgraded to gold retroactively after the Russian hurdler who finished first was found guilty of doping.

“The thought of having my mom, Yolanda, by my side in Paris fills me with joy. She was my coach in London, and now she’ll be there to witness this momentous occasion. The same with my dad who has been with me every step of the way,” she said on her GoFundMe page. “Your kindness has turned a personal achievement into a family celebration. The idea of receiving my gold medal in Paris, surrounded by the people I love most, is becoming a beautiful reality.”

Among the family members trying to make it to Paris to watch their loved ones compete were the parents of U.S. hurdler Freddie Crittenden, who raised more than $20,000 to help with the costs of their trip. Some $6,000 was raised so the mom and younger sister of American wrestler Aaron Brooks, could make it to France. About the same amount was raised for the parents of U.S. swimmer Hunter Armstrong, who won silver in the 4x100-meter men’s relay on Sunday.

“Help aunt Tiff make it to the Paris Olympics,” said the headline of the GoFundMe page set up by Tiffany Martin, who said she is the aunt of American swimmer Keaton Jones, the fifth-place finisher in the 200-meter backstroke final last week. Only $520 had been raised on the page ahead of the Games.