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What Olympic athletes do for a living

Entering fourth day into the Sochi Olympics, some of the athletes’ day jobs came under the spotlight.

The jobs include lawyers, teachers, handymen, and even restaurant managers.

British violinist Vanessa-Mae, having sold in excess of 10 million album, is one of the athletes who left her day job for some time to participate in the Sochi Olympics. The 35-year-old is set to chase gold for her father’s homeland Thailand in alpine skiing as Vanessa Vanakorn using her Thai father’s surname.

The alpine skier who has been training since 2010 was quoted as saying, “I am taking a plunge. It has been my dream, and I am hoping people will accept I just want to give it my best.”

She also added that being part of the Sochi Games will add “a new dimension” to her music.

On the other hand, for some, holding two jobs is a must to afford their living. Tomoko Sakagami, woman’s hockey player for Japan, delivered pizza to finance her ice hockey dream. By working flexible hours, she could continue to pursue her Olympic ambitions.

Some other athletes were reported to hold day jobs, too. The Canadian curlers Jennifer Jones is a lawyer for National Bank Financial and Brad Jacobs is an account manager of Royal Bank of Canada. From the U.S. team, bobsledder Steve Holcomb is a computer technician and curler John Shuster manages a Pickwick restaurant in Minnesota. Another U.S. curler Debbie McCormick is known to be a gold seller.

By Lee Shin-young, Intern reporter (sylee@heraldcorp.com)