Feb 5, 2022
Everyone is thinking Winter Olympics this weekend, but did you know this weekend also marks the first IRONMAN branded race of 2022 - 70.3 Panama City, Panama. The first IRONMAN branded races in North America are Oceanside 70.3 and Galveston 70.3 April 2nd and 3rd respectively. If you are signed up for one of these early season races (like me) then this is likely your first triathlon of the season and first time in open water. This raises lots of questions about how to be ready for the swim and everything else that comes with a race of this distance.
Our guest this week is coach John Mayfield to talk about preparing for early season races. John is a USA Triathlon Level II and Ironman U certified coach who has been working with athletes since 2009.
Show Sponsor: UCAN
Take your performance to the next level with UCAN Energy and Bars made with SuperStarch® UCAN uses SuperStarch instead of simple sugars to fuel serious athletes. UCAN keeps blood sugar steady compared to the energy spikes and crashes of sugar-based products. Steady energy equals sustained performance!
UCAN is Next Level Nutrition. Unlock better health and performance with smarter energy powered by UCAN. Use UCAN in your training and racing to fuel the healthy way, finish stronger and recover more quickly! Use the code 303UCAN for 20% off at ucan.co/discount/303UCAN/ or ucan.co
In Today's Show
Feature Interview: John Mayfield
John serves as TriDot’s vice president of athlete services. John has had the privilege to work with hundreds of athletes ranging from first timers to professionals and everyone in between. John coaches all triathlon distances but specializes in working with athletes racing 70.3 and Ironman distances at all North American Ironman events and travels to the majority of Ironman races in the U.S. each year to support TriDot athletes.
John transitioned to a career in triathlon after 17 years in the banking industry, so he understands the constraints of busy professionals and what is necessary to achieve high level goals while maintaining life’s priorities. He and his wife, Nicole, have three teen-agers: Claire, Jacob, and Bella.
“Perfection is not required, but consistency is an athlete's best friend.”
Our News is sponsored by Buddy Insurance.
Buddy Insurance gives you peace of mind to enjoy your training and racing to their fullest. Buddy’s mission is simple, to help people fearlessly enjoy an active and outdoor lifestyle.
Get on-demand accident insurance just in case the unexpected happens. Buddy ensures you have cash for bills fast. This is accident insurance not health and life insurance. Go to buddyinsurance.com and create an account. There's no commitment or charge to create one. Once you have an account created, it's a snap to open your phone and in a couple clicks have coverage for the day. Check it out!
Endurance News:
Here's How Much Olympic Athletes Can Earn for Winning Medals, Sponsorship and More
Around 14,000 athletes earned that honor this past year, with over 11,000 at the Summer Games and just under 3,000 slated to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
How much are the U.S. Olympic medal bonuses?
As part of “Operation Gold,” an initiative the USOPC launched in 2017, U.S. Olympians who reach the podium receive payments of $37,500 for every gold medal won, $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze.
Since October 2016, legislation has ensured athletes will bring home 100% of their earnings, too. Congress that year nixed a so-called “victory tax” that had previously designated prize money as taxable earned income, though Olympians who report gross income of more than $1 million a year are still subject to the tax.
Which country gives the biggest medal bonus?
Singapore offers what could be the biggest prize for an individual gold medal: 1 million in Singaporean dollars, or roughly $750,000 USD. Silver medal winners get about $369,000 and $184,000 for bronze, CNBC reports.
Medalists from the next highest two countries, Kazakhstan and Malaysia, earn about $250,000 for gold medal. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics host country Japan gave athletes finishing at the podium $45,000 for gold, $18,000 for silver and $9,000 for bronze.
Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, the U.S. gold medal bonus of $37,500 was ranked ninth in the world.
How much do Olympic athletes make from sponsorships?
Of course, Olympians will end up on Wheaties boxes and in television ads, too, employing their likenesses to market products or services through individual deals.
The exact values of Olympics sponsorships are often not disclosed. But for the upper echelon of athletes, the household names that dominate headlines and Olympics ads, figures stretch into the millions.
In 2013, Reuters reported that now-retired Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt signed a roughly $10 million a year deal with Puma during the years he continued to compete. Forbes in 2016 estimated Bolt made nearly $33 million during a 12-month period.
Katie Ledecky, who won two gold medals in Tokyo, signed a $7 million contract with swimwear brand TYR in 2018 after earning a whopping four gold medals in Rio, according to ESPN’s Darren Rovell. Her deal, reported to run through the 2024 Olympic Games, was one of the “most lucrative” partnerships in swimming history, TYR said in a June 2018 release.
A marketable athlete like Simone Biles earns at least $5 million a year, according to a Forbes estimate, through her many sponsorship partners, including major companies like Visa, Athleta, United Airlines, Oreo’s, Uber Eats, MasterClass and Facebook.
U.S. athletes in Beijing will also have more freedom than ever before to benefit from sponsors thanks to a 2019 decision from the USOPC that loosened marketing rules. Competitors may now thank personal sponsors, appear in ads for those sponsors and receive congratulatory messages from them during the games — but without mentioning or displaying the Olympic logo — all aspects that were previously blocked.
Shaun White, one of the biggest names of the Winter Olympics, received his first board sponsorship at age 7. Following his first gold medal in Turin, snowboard-manufacturing company Burton signed him on to a 10-year contract. While the specific details weren’t disclosed, White was estimated to pocket around $10 million a year in sponsorships.
That deal has since expired, leaving White without a board sponsor for the first time in 24 years. The 35 year old has taken creative licensing into his own hands, starting his own brand — titled Whitespace — and even featuring his niece, Charli, prominently on one of his boards.
Which country gives the biggest medal bonus?
Singapore offers what could be the biggest prize for an individual gold medal: 1 million in Singaporean dollars, or roughly $750,000 USD. Silver medal winners get about $369,000 and $184,000 for bronze, CNBC reports.
Medalists from the next highest two countries, Kazakhstan and Malaysia, earn about $250,000 for gold medal. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics host country Japan gave athletes finishing at the podium $45,000 for gold, $18,000 for silver and $9,000 for bronze.
Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, the U.S. gold medal bonus of $37,500 was ranked ninth in the world.
How much do Olympic athletes make from sponsorships?
Of course, Olympians will end up on Wheaties boxes and in television ads, too, employing their likenesses to market products or services through individual deals.
The exact values of Olympics sponsorships are often not disclosed. But for the upper echelon of athletes, the household names that dominate headlines and Olympics ads, figures stretch into the millions.
In 2013, Reuters reported that now-retired Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt signed a roughly $10 million a year deal with Puma during the years he continued to compete. Forbes in 2016 estimated Bolt made nearly $33 million during a 12-month period.
Katie Ledecky, who won two gold medals in Tokyo, signed a $7 million contract with swimwear brand TYR in 2018 after earning a whopping four gold medals in Rio, according to ESPN’s Darren Rovell. Her deal, reported to run through the 2024 Olympic Games, was one of the “most lucrative” partnerships in swimming history, TYR said in a June 2018 release.
A marketable athlete like Simone Biles earns at least $5 million a year, according to a Forbes estimate, through her many sponsorship partners, including major companies like Visa, Athleta, United Airlines, Oreo’s, Uber Eats, MasterClass and Facebook.
U.S. athletes in Beijing will also have more freedom than ever before to benefit from sponsors thanks to a 2019 decision from the USOPC that loosened marketing rules. Competitors may now thank personal sponsors, appear in ads for those sponsors and receive congratulatory messages from them during the games — but without mentioning or displaying the Olympic logo — all aspects that were previously blocked.
Shaun White, one of the biggest names of the Winter Olympics, received his first board sponsorship at age 7. Following his first gold medal in Turin, snowboard-manufacturing company Burton signed him on to a 10-year contract. While the specific details weren’t disclosed, White was estimated to pocket around $10 million a year in sponsorships.
What's New in the 303:
After a dedicated campaign that included triathletes from bike-safety advocacy group It Could Be Me, federal transportation officials announced a plan to protect vulnerable road users.
Last week, National Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg released an ambitious National Roadway Safety Strategy to reduce—and eventually eliminate—fatalities for all road users, especially cyclists and pedestrians. With an emphasis on moving from a car-centric culture to one that prioritizes multiple modes of transportation, the plan has received much praise from people who ride bikes.
For decades the widely held view has been that crashes were due to human error, and people on bikes simply had to accept the risk of being a vulnerable road user in a time when vehicles have become larger and drivers more distracted than ever. As a result, the number of road fatalities has increased every year. More than 38,000 road users died in 2020, an increase of about 2,500 from 2019; preliminary data suggests the 2021 count is even higher.
The initiative includes a $6 billion package of grants to distribute to cities and towns to accomplish these systemic changes to their road infrastructure, including redesigning roadways and installing bike lanes and/or pedestrian paths. There will be new rules for auto manufacturers regarding emergency braking and cyclist/pedestrian detection systems. The Federal Highway Administration will also be given guidance to update speed limits to prioritize safety instead of vehicular movement. It will also create a standardized set of rules for states to follow, something Willerton is particularly enthusiastic about.
Willerton says the comprehensive National Roadway Safety Strategy is “almost verbatim” what cycling safety advocates have been asking for. “Seeing this come to life and having governmental support, it’s just incredible, and it’s all because we came together and shared our stories. All of these triathletes that have been hurt, families who have lost someone they loved, there’s so much outrage and pain. And people have taken that and done something with it to make sure no one has to feel that way again. They’ve really changed things.”
Upcoming Guests
Bill Garrels, host of the Mental Healthlete
Coach David Warden of 8020 Endurance to help us celebrate our 6th anniversary
T.O. and Rinny to talk about the Couples Championship
Video of the Week
THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME | Jan Frodeno 🐐
Pulled by sport and have to do it to feel good.
Purity of the decision to push harder or back off
Balance sport life with family life.
Injury almost got killed by a truck June 2018. Life could be over tomorrow. What do I want to do and how I deal with people
Just be happy the end of every day
Triathlon offers freedom, you can't cheat, you have to put in the effort and it keeps you honest
One day this will be gone - it pisses me off
Closing:
Thanks again for listening in this week. Please be sure to follow us @303endurance and of course go to iTunes and give us a rating and a comment. We'd really appreciate it!
Stay tuned, train informed, and enjoy the endurance journey!