COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The fencer worked as a barista. One martial artist drove a prison truck, and the other went door-to-door selling pizza coupons. The paracyclist was also a starving musician. And as if five sports didn't keep the modern pentathlete busy enough, she also worked part-time at a clothing store.
One of the overlooked realities for Olympic hopefuls in the United States is that, in addition to grinding through a six-day-a-week, eight-hour-a-day training schedule, they also have to follow this well-worn piece of advice: Don't quit your day job.
As of this month, Dick's Sporting Goods has filled that need for 100 of these athletes, most of them trying to stay on the road to Rio and the Summer Olympics next year.