What does it mean to be a professional swimmer?

January 15, 2024 9:00 AM

I'm going to be speaking with someone who's a professional swimmer (in the US), but I don't totally understand what that means. What does it mean to be professional in a sport like swimming? I've googled this, but still don't fully understand.
posted by gigondas to Grab Bag (6 answers total)

Pro athletes make income through advertising/sponsorship deals and (sometimes) tournament prize money. Olympic-level athletes may get paid by their sport’s national governing bodies. Athletes can also get paid for coaching/lessons, and they can do things like write books, speak at events, start a podcast, etc. based on their athletic career.
posted by mbrubeck at 9:12 AM on January 15 [1 favorite]

Apparently swimming also now has a professional league with salaried players, similar to other pro sports leagues.
posted by mbrubeck at 9:15 AM on January 15

I don't think there is a single definition, tbh.

Typically a "professional" is someone who makes a living doing what they are doing. That's really hard for swimmers (it's not easy for any athlete, but I think the opportunities for swimmers are fewer) and if you aren't one of the really, REALLY top athletes you probably aren't makin much of a living at it. They'll get money from races, national sponsorship, or endorsements.

People will often use "professional" as a synonym for "really, really good".
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 9:18 AM on January 15

In the US, for many years, professional swimmers were specifically distinct from NCAA-college level swimmers, and athletes had to decide after finishing high school whether to stay amateur to compete at the collegiate level, with scholarships but no direct payment for swimming or sponsorships, or go pro and get paid to swim and have sponsorships. Now, with the NCAA NIL deals, that's less of an issue.
posted by hydropsyche at 9:54 AM on January 15 [1 favorite]

In short, unless this person has been in the Olympics, “professional swimmer” means they are very fast, and either very poor or works a normal job in addition to swimming.
posted by bowbeacon at 1:07 PM on January 15 [2 favorites]

Pros in Olympic sports, whether or not actual Olympians, get sponsorships from gear makers, day jobs working for boosters who accommodate training and competition, and/or often coach and teach elite prep and younger athletes part time. There’s a lot of money in Olympic sports because top high school athletes have a huge advantage in college admissions parents will pay to obtain.
posted by MattD at 8:32 PM on January 15