Olympics
In just a few months, we’ll be watching Team USA enter the Olympic venue at Milano Cortina, Italy, in the opening ceremony. Between now and then, athletes will compete fiercely with each other to qualify for the team and represent the U.S. at the Winter Olympics. While the immense challenge of maintaining an extreme training program, avoiding injury, and stringing together a successful set of races in the season leading up to the Winter Olympics may sound familiar, the part of the story that often goes untold involves huge sums of money and extensive travel to make it to critical races, careers being put on hold, and balancing dreams of being an Olympian with realities that may mean living in your car for a few months a year.
High-profile sports, like hockey and alpine skiing, benefit from extensive sponsorship and robust fan bases. However, for other events, such as bobsledding, skeleton, ski mountaineering, and all the events in the Paralympic Games, the harsh reality is that being one of the best in the world does not necessarily mean you will be able to participate in the Olympics. Increasingly, athletes are turning to crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe to help make their Olympic dreams a reality. SnowBrains spoke to a few Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls using GoFundMe to understand what it means to have Olympic Dreams in a less well-publicized event.
Geoff Gadbois, Bobsledding
“It’s addicting. It’s an adrenaline rush like no other. I’ve jumped out of planes and stuff like that, and it still doesn’t give you the same satisfaction as driving a bobsled,” said Geoff Gadbois, Bobsled Pilot for Team USA, when asked what has kept him coming back to the sport year after year. Gadbois, who has been racing bobsleds for almost 15 years, is something of an exception in the sport, which usually recruits athletes from other sports like track and field and football. “It’s a lot of people that don’t reach their dreams and aspirations in their first sport. We have a couple guys that ran track and field at U.S. Olympic trials, but they’re not one of those top 3 sprinters. We’ve got guys that played in the XFL, CFL, practice squad NFL, but they’re not going to make those starting rosters.”
Gadbois explained that the physicality of the sport makes practice difficult. “The amount of time that we can spend on a sled is based on what our bodies can take. The sleds are heavy. We’re pushing them in colder temperatures. The G forces on our bodies take a lot out of us. It’s not a smooth ride by any means. It’s very violent.” With the threat of injury even more serious during an Olympic year, bobsled teams will often only make three training runs in a day. Gadbois, who spoke to SnowBrains via phone from Milano Cortina after a training session, said that most bobsled teams only have around 12 minutes of total track time on the Olympic course. Outside of the sled, training mainly revolves around weight-lifting and sprint workouts, focusing on building explosive power.
Gadbois is the driver of the third USA sled, which is ranked 21st in the world by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation at the time of publication. Only two countries will be able to send three sleds to the Olympics, and Gadbois said Germany is likely to be one of them. The U.S. will have to beat out Switzerland and some other outside contenders to qualify three sleds, or Gadbois and his team will have to go faster than the other U.S. sleds. USA Bobsled-Skeleton only had enough money to fund two sleds on the World Cup circuit this season, meaning that even though Gadbois and his crew have a decent shot at qualifying for the Olympics, to actually get there, they will have to self-fund their season.
Track fees, transportation for their precision 400-pound sled, hotel rooms, and everything else needed for a season of racing in Europe can amount to more than $100,000, according to the team’s GoFundMe. USA Bobsled-Skeleton has recently found a new hype man and supporter in Flavor Flav, following up on his support of USA Waterpolo; however, the funds still are not there to fund a third team on the World Cup circuit. Gadbois and his team have been able to cobble together enough funds to start the season, but the hunt for a spot in the Olympics may prove to be financially as well as physically and mentally challenging.
Kelsey O’Driscoll, Para-Alpine Skiing
Take enough laps at Gore Mountain, New York, and you will probably run into para ski racer and adaptive ski patroller Kelsey O’Driscoll. O’Driscoll grew up skiing at Gore Mountain and has been a ski patroller there for more than a decade. After a spinal cord injury in 2021, O’Driscoll had to relearn how to walk and how to ski. By the end of her first year as a four-track skier, she was back to shredding all of the runs at Gore and was asked by the patrol director to return to ski patrolling. After spending the following winter relearning how to run rescue toboggans, O’Driscoll sought the next challenge and turned to ski racing. “The next thing I knew, I got a call from the head coach of the para team at the National Sports Center for the Disabled in Winter Park. Colorado. And he was like, ‘Do you want to come for nationals?'” O’Driscoll said. At the end of her first race season, O’Driscoll was national champion in Slalom and Giant Slalom, and runner-up in Super-G.
Now, O’Driscoll is in the hunt for a spot on the Paralympic team, which requires racking up successes on the World Cup circuit in Europe. O’Driscoll said that now that she is on the U.S. team, she receives some assistance with travel, race fees, and hotel accommodations for World Cup races. However, the costs are exponentially higher for para athletes. “I travel with a wheelchair and crutches, and I have meds and medical needs, and all this stuff adds up.” O’Driscoll said that a pair of custom titanium outriggers, needed for racing, can cost upwards of $900, in addition to the suite of race skis required for each event. O’Driscoll highlighted that these higher costs exist not only for Paralympians but also for all adaptive skiers. In an already expensive sport, adaptive athletes face much higher financial barriers to entry.
To rack up the World Cup results needed to qualify for Team USA, O’Driscoll has to take time away from her work as a pediatric nurse and live out of a suitcase on the European race circuit. Her GoFundMe helps cover coaching fees, equipment, food, and other expenses that the U.S. team is unable to cover. The 2026 Winter Paralympics will open in Milano Cortina on March 6. Selections for Team USA will happen in mid-February.
Gwen Rudy, Ski Mountaineering
Gwen Rudy started as a runner, but discovered ski mountaineering while searching for ways to train in Leadville, Colorado, where snow can be on the ground for 8 months out of the year. “It’s a really good way to train your aerobic system in the winter and still kind of get that similar running fitness. But then I realized I liked the sport more than running,” Rudy said. After trying her hand at a few local races, Rudy was hooked. “It’s kind of a hard sport for Americans to participate in and get to, especially at that high level. We have some great local series here in Colorado and Utah, but the World Cup is only in Europe, really.”
After it was announced that Milano Cortina will be the first Winter Olympics to feature ski mountaineering, or skimo, Rudy decided that she wanted to try and represent the U.S. in skimo, but she needed a lot more experience racing at the World Cup level. Last season, she made three separate trips to Europe, including a seven-week trip to conclude the season. Rudy used a combination of GoFundMe, a silent auction in Leadville, and personal savings to fund her European season. “Last year was the big Olympic excitement, and I realized I needed some help because I can’t afford to do all this. My sister started a GoFundMe to offset some of the racing costs. It’s expensive,” Rudy said.
European dominance in skimo has earned them all the automatic qualifying country spots for the mixed-gender relay. Team USA will have to battle it out with Canada in early December to secure a continental spot. Only one man and one woman will be able to participate, meaning that, in addition to the race against Canada, there will be fierce competition within the team for the top spots. The pivotal race will also be the first World Cup race hosted in the U.S., at Solitude Mountain Resort in Utah. With little snow on the ground in Colorado, Rudy has had to travel back and forth to Arapahoe Basin, Colorado, a few times per week to get uphill laps early in the morning on the one groomer the resort has been able to open so far this season.
Paige VanArsdale, Para-Alpine Skiing
Despite her relatively young age, Paige VanArsdale has already had a long career in para-alpine ski racing. Born to a family of skiers and ski racers, she started skiing at the age of three. VanArsdale was born with cerebral palsy, a neurological condition that causes weakness on the right side of her body, interfering with her ability to walk, ski, and do other physical activities. VanArsdale underwent major surgery at age 13 to reconstruct her leg, enabling her to ski without pain. Following this surgery, VanArsdale began ski racing.
VanArsdale primarily trains at the National Ability Center in Park City, Utah, and occasionally at the National Sports Center for the Disabled in Winter Park, Colorado. She also skis with the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club when she is in her hometown. Like many ski racing careers, VanArsdale’s has not been without its share of crashes and injuries. As a para athlete, these can often be more serious, as the recovery process can be more complicated or take longer. In 2017, VanArsdale had a seizure and a concussion while competing at the Huntsman Cup in Park City, Utah. She was hospitalized for a month and had to relearn how to ski. In February 2024, VanArsdale crashed during a downhill race and broke her left tibia, the strong side of her body. She spent last season rebuilding her confidence at speed and has now set her sights on qualifying for the Paralympic team.
Although VanArsdale’s season got off to a strong start with a training camp in Chile, she will likely be unable to compete in Europe due to financial constraints. VanArsdale is trying a new treatment for hemiplegic cerebral palsy, which involves using Botox injections to help muscle tissue relax on the right side of her body. VanArsdale said that these injections are more than $1,700 per session and also require physical therapy, stretching her race budget for the season. VanArsdale must rely on North American races to earn enough points to qualify for the team. Despite these challenges, VanArsdale is entering this season ready to take the best shot she can at qualifying for Team USA. “No pain, no gain. I think that’s kind of my motto this year. That, and we are stronger when we are together. If I try to think of those things, then I could hopefully make it where I need to be, potentially, this coming year, whatever will come,” she said.
Hannah Gaskins, Skeleton
Hannah Gaskins has always harbored dreams of representing the U.S. on the track at the Olympics. A few years ago, it may have seemed like that track would be the oval-shaped rubber track the heptathlete was used to competing on, but that track would actually be a frozen, serpentine track that Gaskins would have to slide down headfirst at freeway speeds in an event known as skeleton. Gaskins discovered the event after participating in a combine hosted by USA Bobsled and Skeleton to identify promising sliders from other sports, such as track and field. “I knew that I did not reach my fullest potential [in track and field] and I was someone who really wanted to one day represent my country at the Olympics,” Gaskins said.
Gaskins was invited to the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York, and began competing in the North American Cup. At the end of her first season, she was fourth overall and on her way to the European Cup. While launching her career as a skeleton athlete, Gaskins was also working to establish her career as a mental health therapist. Gaskins took a year off from sliding to finish her Master’s degree, but is now planning to take some time to focus on qualifying for the Olympics this winter. Many Olympic athletes must balance their athletic careers with professional careers while still making ends meet. Gaskins was able to qualify for housing at the Olympic Training Center over the summer, but she noted that athletes must reapply each year, and many athletes often live out of their cars or in hotels.
To qualify for the skeleton team, Gaskins will need to be one of the top American sliders in the upcoming European Cup season and must be ranked higher than 55th in the world. Skeleton can take years to master, but Gaskins expressed confidence about the upcoming season. “I’m working towards fulfilling that vision that I had when I was younger, of me being an Olympian. I’ve always wanted to be one. Honestly, I’ve got the rest of my life to work. I’ve already got my degree. I can pick it up when I’m done with the sport. So right now, if my body can do it, then I’m going to try to reach my fullest potential.”
Pursuing The Olympic Dream
For many athletes pursuing Olympic dreams, the journey means enormous sacrifice. Very few Olympic events, in both the Winter and Summer games, benefit from a level of sponsorship capable of supporting robust communities of professional athletes. In fact, professional athletes were not allowed to compete in the Olympics until 1988. The Olympics have always offered a romantic ideal of the world’s best athletes coming together for international competition, but too often, talented athletes do not make it to the games because of the extreme level of commitment that elite athleticism requires.
“What might have been a dream deferred by lack of funding becomes possible through hundreds of small donations that add up to something life-changing. In this way, communities ensure that determination and resilience, rather than money, determine who makes it to Milan. It keeps the Olympic dream alive for those who have the talent and the will, giving them the chance to step onto the world stage and represent their communities with pride.” — Jeff Platt, Communications Manager for GoFundMe.
Many of the athletes who will compete in Milan-Cortina later this winter have put their lives on hold and decided to live out of a suitcase in Europe while they try to secure a spot to represent their country as an Olympian. This sacrifice comes at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars. Crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe provide an opportunity to support these athletes in their pursuit of their dreams. To be sure, Team USA, the International Olympic Committee, and other National Olympic Committees receive huge levels of financial support in the form of sponsorship and media deals, but all too often, the story of what it takes financially, not just physically, to make it to the games is lost along the way.
