Olympian Lauryn Williams, the first American to win a medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympics, has grown through different phases of life.
At 20, the track & field and bobsled athlete earned $200,000 in sponsorship from Nike, whereas, in her 30s, she made $12-an-hour as an intern. The American recalled her life in a recent interview but admitted that she can’t make ends meet with her current wages.
“There’s this misconception that because I’m the first to do this thing—and still no one else has done it—that I’m booked all year long for speaking engagements,” she told CNBC Make It. “I get things here or there, but I can’t make a living from it.”
“The news coverage came, but the sponsors didn’t. I made $80,000 the year I became the first American woman to medal in the Summer and Winter Olympics.”
Although Williams became a significant figure in the world of sports, she admitted to becoming insecure in the corporate world as her friends were ahead of her after she started working as an intern at the Briaud Financial Advisors in 2013, as per LinkedIn.
“I was behind the ball because I was 30 years old and just starting, whereas I had friends who were already doctors and lawyers and well into their careers,” she added. “I spent all of my 20s competing, so I felt kind of insecure that I didn’t have any real work knowledge.”
As an intern, Williams struggled to pass the CPF exam before finally getting through it in 2017. However, overcoming the setbacks, she has managed to groom athletes under her belt at 40 by guiding them to make smarter decisions through her firm ‘Worth Winning’.
