Game Stop: The money lessons Canadian athletes learn—but apply to all of us

For this week’s MVP, we’re chatting with athletes, former athletes and those who advise athletes about finances.

By Rosemary Counter

We found 10 Canadians—everyone from recent Olympians to coaches and planners who work with athletes—to talk to us about what it takes to be a champion and what competing taught them about money. Few Olympians retire and grow old as millionaires, and they don’t get rich from the Games. The luckiest receive a relatively modest financial prize—$20,000 for a gold medal—before getting back to work and real life like the rest of us. But what did competing teach them about spending, budgeting and investing? In exclusive interviews, The Get got 10 fast financial lessons from athletes after the Games.  

Lesson #1: Sometimes, you’ll have to wing it 

“To be one of the best in the world, you have to listen to your gut. You have to have some blind faith at times and trust in what you want to do.”

—Mike Janyk, three-time Olympic skier

Lesson #2: Slow and steady wins the race 

“As an athlete, you’re not really conditioned to be moderate. Now, I’m co-opting a medium-term mindset—nothing so long term that it’s not tangible, but not so short term that I’m just chasing my tail.” 

—Jeremiah Brown, 2012 silver medal winner, rowing  

Lesson #3: Plan for next year 

“My Olympic career taught me about budgeting. You get a nice big fat cheque that has to last you the entire year because you’re not going to get paid again next year.”   

—Jeff Christie, two-time Olympian in luge 

Lesson #4: It’s not about what you make 

“I’ve worked with millionaires who make $50,000 a year and those who make half a million a year who haven’t got two nickels to rub together. You don’t have to track every penny, but you have to be aware of what’s going on with your money.”

—Ken Doll, financial planner with NHL clients

Lesson #5: It’s what you make of it 

“I learned very young, through great teachers and role models, that you don’t get anywhere without setting a goal and having a work ethic. You get nothing if you put nothing in—but if you work hard you get a lot in return.”

—Clay Ives, 2002 Olympic bronze medalist in luge

Lesson #6: Make every moment count 

“To me, financial victory is built when no one else is watching. It’s when you’d love to buy a coffee, but you make it at home to save a little bit. It’s about prioritizing your future when it would be so much easier to just spend today.”

—Jeff Adamson, five-time national wrestling champion and Pan American Games bronze medalist, and co-founder of Neo Financial 

Lesson #7: Work hard… but not too hard 

“Finances are incredibly important, but to sustain those finances, you also have to have a balanced life. If you work too much or too hard, you might have a big stack of money, but you might not be healthy.”

—Cindy Marshall, Canada’s women’s bobsleigh team, 2006

Lesson #8: It’s probably not as hard as it seems 

“For a long time, I didn’t invest my earnings because I didn’t realize how easily I could grow my money. The biggest lesson I’ve learned about finances is the power of investing.” 

—Caeli McKay, 2024 Summer Olympics, diving 

Lesson #9: Expect to make mistakes 

“Sometimes things don’t go well, but you still need to push through. At the end, there will be the reward, whether it’s a medal, a financial goal or anything you want in life.”

—Geneviève Thibault, national team athlete in track and field, rugby sevens and bobsleigh

Lesson #10: It’s only money (and you can always make more) 

“I was pretty reckless with money. I didn’t have much, and what I had, I spent on what I needed. I was living a dream and wanted to pursue it and did everything possible I could to make it happen.”  

—Max Thompson, Nordic combined Olympian and coach

With files from Madison Macgregor.

Rosemary Counter is a Toronto-based writer and journalist whose reporting and essays have appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Guardian and others.

Read more from this issue of The Get:

1. How to invest in cottage real estate like a Hollander
2. When travelling, should I pay in Canadian dollars on my credit card?
3. Here’s one way to reduce your grocery bill
4. True or false: Buy Now, Pay Later costs nothing

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