How Olympic Contenders Can ‘Lose Money’ in Elite Running

June 11, 2024

In July 2022, Eric Holt finished fourth at the U.S. outdoor championships in the men’s 1,500 meters, just a fingernail short of the podium. In the two years since, he’s only gotten better. On Sunday in New York, he ran a lifetime best of 3:34.05, nearly beating ’22 world champion Jake Wightman and making it clear he’s a contender to make the U.S. Olympic team at the track and field trials, which start later this month.

Yet, neither Holt nor his New York–based nonprofit club, Empire Elite, have a sponsorship with a shoe or apparel company, the lifeblood of how most U.S. runners make any money at all. FOS