S. Mattis, a bronze medalist in the discus throw at the 2021 trials, will compete in his first Olympic Games this summer in Tokyo. He has already built a reputation for himself, both on and off the track, but few people know the full story of his arduous route to the Olympics.
The path of life for the 27-year-old New Jersey native who attended East Brunswick High School and then the University of Pennsylvania for his education almost took a different turn when he worked on Wall Street.
S. Mattis: The Good Fortune
After graduating from the esteemed Wharton School in 2016, he was offered a position at JPMorgan Chase, but he declined, opting instead to follow in the footsteps of his financially struggling family.
Since leaving down that lucrative career, the athlete has made do with odd occupations like teaching and hyperlocal marketing to bring in less than $35,000 per year, according to the CDC. S. Mattis has diversified his sources of income to a surprising degree.
Although he has had to juggle the demands of Olympic-level training and a part-time job, S. Mattis has had some good fortune: as one of the nation’s finest discus throwers, he receives a $12,000 annual stipend from USA Track and Field.
“What most of us do with athletics, whether it’s lifting, throwing, technique training, and recovery afterwards, that’s already a full-time job,” S. Mattis told. “It’s also an emotionally and physically demanding profession. It’s nearly impossible to balance it with the five-to-eight hours of labour a day that most people have to put in.”
Final Words
Finally, in Tokyo, things are beginning to pay off. Just making Team USA is worth $10,000 to S. Mattis, and his bronze medal performance at the Olympic trials earned him an additional $6,000. The money will increase if he finishes in the top three in Tokyo.
Even if he doesn’t get the top-line sponsorships offered to the most elite competitors in the most popular disciplines of his sport, he still plans to make preparing for the 2024 Olympics in Brisbane, Australia, a priority after Tokyo.
