By Yi Whan-woo
Not all Olympic athletes receive endorsements and sponsorships. Many of them have worked their butts off to earn money for their own training and to join the Olympics.
Among them is Akwasi Frimpong, the only athlete from Ghana at PyeongChang and also the second African male to compete in Olympic skeleton.
He works as a vacuum cleaner salesman to make living, according to sources.
Having no sponsors, he made several attempts to come to PyeongChang until a South Korean entrepreneur learned about him and offered him financial support.
He finished 30th in the men’s skeleton race.
Nao Kodaira, who set an Olympic record to win the ladies’ 500-meter speed skating at age 31 on Feb. 18, reportedly works at Aizawa Hospital in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, as a “frequent business traveler.”
A late bloomer, Kodaira rose to international prominence only in recent years and did not win any individual events in the Olympics before the PyeongChang Winter Games.
She had difficulty finding sponsorship and coming up with the money for her training until the general hospital decided to endorse her financially since 2009.
Min Yu-ra, a U.S.-born athlete who competed for South Korean in ice dance, worked part time as a pet sitter back in the States, according to the sources.
Her ice dance partner, Gamelin Alexander, is also from the U.S. He teaches ice skating to children and is expected to continue doing that after the Olympics.
Meanwhile, Park Seung-hi, said she will pursue her career as a fashion designer after competing in the ladies’ 1,000-meter speed skating at the PyeongChang Winter Games on Feb. 14.
She was formerly a short track speed skater. She won gold medals at the women’s 1,000 meters and 3,000-meter relay, plus a bronze in the 500 meters at the 2014 Olympics. She finished third at the 1,000 meters and 1,500 meters at the 2010 Winter Games.