Good Question: How Do Olympic Athletes Make Money?

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- We are just a few days away from the start of the Summer Olympics in Rio. Seventeen of the U.S. athletes who will be competing are from Minnesota, but most of them aren't getting paid to participate on the world stage.

So how do Olympic athletes make money? Good Question.

It's said that full-time training for the Olympics can equal a full-time job. Olympian Rasa Troup knows all about that.

"It still gives me a lot of emotions and goosebumps with three days left until the Olympics," she said.

Troup represented Lithuania in the 2008 Summer games, running in the inaugural steeplechase just months after she gave birth to her first child. She needed money to train and travel.

"Many of the athletes do work. Only a fraction are able to make a living from the endorsements," she said.

Troup worked full-time and did get a little money from coworker donations. Lithuania also paid for her travel to Beijing, but it was still tight.

The only exceptions are professionals and A-list athletes, like Michael Phelps, who get corporate sponsorships. Speedo alone paid Phelps $1 million for winning eight gold medals in the 2008 games. Fellow swimmer Ryan Lochte earned over $2 million in 2012 sponsorships.

The U.S. Olympic Committee will also pay an athlete $25,000 if they win a gold medal, $15,000 for a silver, and $10,000 for a bronze. But for most, pursuing the Olympic dream is about working hard and watching what you spend.

"We just made a sacrifice that year and tightened up the belts and did what we needed to do to get there," Troup said. She now works as a sports dietitian for the Vikings and University of Minnesota.

There are competitions leading up to the Olympics, that provide pay-outs, but it's not a lot of money.

The USA Track and Field Foundation says only about five track and field athletes make $15,000 or more from the sport. Talking about that $25,000 US gold medal payout, Russia pays $135,000 for a gold.

Malaysia gives a gold medalist a $600,000 gold bar- but they haven't won a gold medal in 60 years.