THE comments could easily have come from any middle-class town where workers have trouble making ends meet: “No pension plan, no chance of structural income over a longer period of time.” … “I will not have savings until the mortgage of my house is paid off.” … “My parents still have to help me pay for my food.”

In this case, however, the tales of financial struggle come from some of the best athletes in the world.

In a survey of nearly 500 elite athletes spread across 48 countries, many of them gearing up for the Olympics later this year, an athletes’ rights group found that 58 per cent did not consider themselves financially stable.