That’s why it’s imo so important to have support group to “keep it real” to not have an athlete go into the dumps. Again even if it’s not a “full time coach”, work with someone to talk strategy / planning and reality (also why I think sport psyche is huge asset to athletes).
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It’s not a lot after expenses, and even less considering unlike every other profession you have a very small window of time to earn. What’s he going to do when he is finished other than coach, work a 7/11?
Joe Skipper
Quite a few other triathletes usually have a degree or profession they can go to…
Greg Harper 
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going back to the job market in your 30’s or 40’s with no experience and references is impossible for most serious professions. Influencer on the other hand…
check that with Dr. Hannah Berry or Justin Riele 
Good for them, but as far as I know Sam has nothing, nor do a lot of others. How the likes of Marquardte etc are able to function professionally whilst training 30+ hours a week is beyond me.
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plenty high level AGers are there or thereabouts…
Justin never left the job market. That is totally different than Sam.
Depends on what you’re doing. When I did my MBA (granted this was over a decade ago), there were a few guys who were former pro poker players in the class, and a former Olympic athlete as well. Some of the high finance / management consulting firms who were recruiting from there appreciated the fact that if you could be world-class in a given thing, that the dedication and mindset transferred over. Pro poker player to stock broker obviously makes sense on some level, but even the PHD to Tier 1 Consulting pipeline is surprisingly large.
Even outside of that, he’s got transferrable skills - he’s obviously good at pitching himself to sponsors, and building up a social media presence / brand offering isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do.
under 40% of men under 40 have degrees. 97% have jobs. 35-40 is certainly not too old to learn a new trade. His wife is also a potential future earner. Very very few pros (guessing under 10%) know that they can stop working for the rest of their lives after they are done racing.
Great, again what does that have to do with Sam?
MM has specifically taken the “long” extended timeline for medical school. He’s in the 6 year pathway vs the normal 4 years for US medical schools. I can’t remember if that included a “gap” year as well within that time frame.
in my company we’ve just hired a former WT level triathlete that went to Paris olympics as part of a specific pathway. There are job opportunities, if you’re not dumb, and I don’t think Sam is - perhaps not super qualified academically, but from his video a smart guy comes across to me.
There’s a world for them beyond 7/11. Chelsea Burns (currently the best interviewer in triathlon) worked at Trader Joe’s (in fact still might be) after she retired from elite sport.
Marquardt isn’t just racing fast, he’s playing the smartest long game ever in triathlon, with a medical career path worth over $30 million in lifetime earnings; probably, he’s one of the sharpest athletes in the sport.
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He’s just playing with house money at this point. He’s doing well, but I always get the sense that triathlon is just to pay for med school and everything else is a bonus.
Though one wonders what he might be able to achieve if he was a full time triathlete.
Sadly, we’ll never know. Sure, he could probably push harder with more free hours, but given how common overtraining and injuries are among endurance pros, I wouldn’t be surprised if med school is actually his secret weapon! Having academics as a counterweight keeps him from overtraining and breaking down the way some full-time pros often do. That balance might be exactly what allows him to perform at this level. Now, I am pretty sure his social life must suck!
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Numbers speak for themselves!
Lionel Sanders
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IRONMAN World Championships: 2nd (2017 Kona), 2nd (2021 St. George)
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IRONMAN 70.3 Worlds: 2nd (2017), 3rd (2018)
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IRONMAN Wins: 7 (Arizona ×4, Mont-Tremblant ×2, Florida ×1)
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IRONMAN 70.3 Wins: 30+ titles
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Fastest Time: 7:44:29 (2016 IRONMAN Arizona, then world best)
Cameron Wurf
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IRONMAN World Championships: Best finish 5th (2019 Kona)
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IRONMAN Wins: Few (not a volume winner; career focus split with cycling)
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70.3 Wins: not his specialty
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Fastest Time: Has clocked sub-8 at Ironman Italy (course records, but not world-best level)
Wurf’s peak cycling ranking was only 357 in 2012, and in the peloton, he’s remembered more as ‘the triathlete guy’ than for any real cycling achievements.
