As they struggle to make ends meet, a spotlight is being cast on an Olympics funding system that watchdog groups condemn as "broken," claiming most athletes "can barely pay their rent".
The Olympics, the world's biggest sporting stage, bring in billions of dollars in TV rights, ticket sales and sponsorship, but most athletes must fend for themselves financially.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), however, was dismissive.
When asked by The Associated Press about athletes turning to OnlyFans, IOC spokesman Mark Adams responded, "Have you been looking at my browser history?"
Watching his sponsorships dry up and facing mounting costs, Jack Laugher was among the pantheon of Olympic athletes using the often-controversial platform to get to the Games — or simply survive.
After medaling at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Laugher, who scored another bronze in Paris last week for the UK, said he was waiting for funding that never materialised.
His account, costing $10 a month for a subscription, says he posts "SFW (safe for work) content in Speedos, briefs, boxers."
A recent post from the Olympics got more than 1,400 likes.
"For me, it's been an absolute lifeline," he said, before he was whisked away mid-interview by a British team official, underscoring the sensitivity of the issue.
The AP spoke to multiple current and former Olympians who painted a sobering portrait of what they had to do — and bare — to get to Paris.
Laugher, and other current and former Olympians — rower Robbie Manson (New Zealand), pole vaulter Alysha Newman (Canada), divers Timo Barthel (Germany), Diego Belleza Isaias (Mexico) and Matthew Mitcham (Australia), the first openly gay Olympic gold medallist — found a measure of financial stability in OnlyFans that other funding failed to provide.
Unable to secure traditional sponsorships, Mitcham began posting photos on OnlyFans, including semi-frontal nudes, earning triple the amount he received as a top athlete.
"That body is an amazing commodity that people want to pay to see. It's a privilege to see a body that has six hours of work every day, six days a week put into it to make it Adonis-like," said Mitcham, who describes himself as a "sex worker-lite."
Australia's Matthew Mitcham is among athletes who found a level of financial stability in OnlyFans. (Tracey Nearmy/AAP PHOTOS)
While some athletes say they don't see what they're doing as sex work, German diver Bartel put it frankly: "in sport, you wear nothing but a Speedo, so you're close to being naked."
Global Athlete, an organisation created by athletes to address the power imbalance in sports, decried the dire state of Olympic financing.
"The entire funding model for Olympic sport is broken. The IOC generates now over US$1.7 billion per year and they refuse to pay athletes who attend the Olympics," said Rob Koehler, Global Athlete's director general.
He criticised the IOC for forcing athletes to sign away their image rights.
"The majority of athletes can barely pay their rent, yet the IOC, national Olympic committees and national federations that oversee the sport have employees making over six figures. They all are making money off the backs of athletes. In a way, it is akin to modern-day slavery," Koehler said.
The AP spoke to multiple athletes who confirm they have had to pay their own way to the Olympics.
While stars like Michael Phelps and Simone Biles can make millions, most athletes struggle to cover the cost of competing on the global stage.
These can include coaching, physical therapy and equipment, at a cost of thousands of dollars a month, as well as basic living expenses.
The IOC downplayed concerns saying it distributes 90 per cent of its revenues to "the development of sport and athletes," but didn't go into detail.
