Aussie sports great reveals the insane amounts the parents of our Olympics stars will have to shell out to see them compete in Paris
- Parents of Olympic athletes will have to pay a fortune to go to Paris
- Stars don’t get free tickets for friends and family
- It means the costs will be in the thousands
The families of Olympic stars competing in Paris will be forced to spend thousands of dollars to support their loved ones, with the eye-watering costs of attending the Games laid bare.
Athletes have been told they will not get free tickets to see family or friends in France, where the Olympics will take place next month.
It means those who helped fund their child’s sporting activities will have to foot a significant bill if they want to watch their loved one compete for gold.
Ariarne Titmus’ family say they expect to pay $20,000 to attend the swimming sensation race in Paris, while former Australian netball star Caitlin Bassett stressed that parents whose children have to compete in multiple qualifying events are at a financial disadvantage.
“During my netball career we were not allocated free tickets to major events such as the Commonwealth Games or World Cups,” she told News Corp.
The enormous costs of following your loved ones to the Olympics have been exposed
The families of Olympic stars do not get free tickets to events in Paris
‘At the 2015 World Cup in Sydney we played a total of eight matches – five pool matches and three finals – and on the morning of the gold medal match we received an invoice by email for the tickets for the tournament, with one of my teammates had to pay a $5,000 bill. .’
Tickets for the swim cost about $370 for the heats, $1,100 for the semi-finals and a whopping $1,600 for the final.
Titmus is competing in three individual events, but due to demand and limited seating, her family won’t be able to watch all of her races poolside.
Australian Olympian Matilda Kearns took to social media to share her frustrations over the cost of a ticket for her family to watch her compete in water polo.
The Stingers play four preliminary rounds and then three finals, and tickets become more expensive the closer they get to the gold medal game.
Caitlin Bassett (R) has exposed the eye-watering costs of following your loved ones
Families of athletes also have to pay for flights, food and accommodation.
Olympic boxer Tyla McDonald’s mother, Sam, arranged an apartment in Paris in advance and insured it for $19,000.
“Being responsible for putting your loved ones under financial stress only increases the pressure to perform,” Bassett added.
“You want to be sure the outcome is worth the huge bill, or even that a gold medal provides a financial reward that can be used to help cover costs.”