Olympic Speedskater Balances Blades and Budgets

Takeaways: Olympic Speedskater's Financial Reality

• BECU is sponsoring 24-year-old Olympic speedskater Cooper McLeod from Washington.
• McLeod will compete in the upcoming 2026 Olympics; he won the World Cup title in 2024.
• Being a BECU member has helped McLeod budget and spend wisely as he competes for the gold.
• Volunteering with his hometown speedskating club is one way McLeod gives back to the community.
• McLeod offers financial tips for young athletes and their parents.

Cooper McLeod started skating around the same age most children begin walking. At just 10 months old, McLeod started roller skating at Skagit Skate in Burlington, Washington, where he lived until he moved to nearby Kirkland at age 12.

"I took a liking to it, and my parents just kept bringing me," McLeod said.

At 3 years old, McLeod joined an in-line speedskating team at a coach's invitation. He moved to the ice at age 8. He remembers how it felt to move fast across the ice as a child — "the way you get to physically express yourself to create speed is so much fun."

As McLeod grew older, he fell in love with the sport's technical aspects: "Speedskating truly is an art, so getting to improve my abilities and knowledge on a day-to-day basis is amazing."

McLeod missed qualifying for the last Olympic games by a heartbreaking 0.05 seconds.

"The following offseason, I really dove into what I needed to do to be prepared for the next time around," he said.

At the 2025 World Championships, he had a breakout season, placing 3rd in the 500-meter and 4th in the 1000-meter.

Now, McLeod has qualified for the upcoming 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics in Italy.

"The feeling was electric, and even that may be an understatement," he said. "When I came around the final turn and started to pull away, I processed 'my dreams are coming true, I'm going to the Olympics.'"

Financial Side of Professional Sports

Professional speedskaters with Olympic ambitions must budget for equipment and domestic travel each year, including Olympic trials in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

"Setting aside enough money to get there and back is essential," he said. The U.S. Speedskating organization generally covers travel, lodging and food, but athletes still need to pay for other everyday expenses.

"On the equipment side of things, I generally know going into a season what I'll need and if it's a costly item that will last a few years or a disposable short-term item," he said. For example, he must replace or refurbish his boots and blades every two to four years, with boots running more than $3,000.

Balancing short-term needs with long-term financial targets can be challenging, he noted. It can be even more challenging in the U.S., which lacks a government-funded national organization to support competitors (PDF), unlike many other countries.

"I tend to figure out my absolute needs and requirements for life and sport, and then where I can afford to spend a bit more," he said.

McLeod relies on budgeting tools to help achieve his professional goals. He became a BECU member two years ago, at age 22, after opening a savings account, then a checking account.

The BECU mobile app offers McLeod easy access to budgeting, real-time spending management, and account monitoring, no matter where he is in the world.

For training, McLeod is based in Salt Lake City for about 10 months out of the year. He spends the remaining months in Edgewood, Washington, with his parents.

"While I'm in Salt Lake City, I have to do most of my banking digitally, but with BECU's simple interface, that's no problem," he said. He also appreciates BECU's travel notifications, card security and fraud prevention.

"BECU keeps me focused on competing and not worried about my finances," he said. "The budget feature offers a super convenient way to see all of my spending habits in one place so I can better adjust things if I'm not quite on track."

He's also saving for the future. "My long-term goal is to afford a house, even if that means missing out on a few things that I've wanted."

Giving Forward

Coaches and friends have been integral to McLeod's success, offering guidance and support for elite performance. Having received help in pursuing his sport, McLeod hopes to pay it forward by giving back to the community.

McLeod volunteers at Puget Sound Speedskating whenever possible, offering his experience and wisdom to young athletes. He pitches in at an annual Northwest local competition when home in the spring, and when the speedskating club comes to Salt Lake City for competition, he engages with the young skaters for some sessions.

"Gaining knowledge and experience in my travels and competition, then trying to 'pay it forward' and share the lessons I've learned is a huge part of what I try to do," he said. "People don't always have all the tools they need to be successful, so if we've been there before, we can help give that little push in the right direction. That can make all the difference."

Financial Tips for Young Athletes

McLeod suggested that parents and young athletes learn as much as possible about their potential sport before "buying in." The average U.S. sports family spent $1,016 on their child's primary sport in 2024, according to the latest survey from the Aspen Institute.

Inflation has hit the sports community hard, with overall costs rising 46% due to travel, equipment, training and competition expenses. And even top athletes often rely on family support during their years of training and competition, according to a 2024 report (PDF).

"If you can have an idea of what you're going to need to purchase and how often certain things need to be replaced, it saves you time and headache later," McLeod said. "Knowing which major items you need ahead of time is huge, so there aren't any surprises down the line."

To other young athletes who dream of competing at the highest level, he said: "Dream big. The only person who can limit your potential is you. If you believe in yourself to accomplish massive feats, anything is possible as long as you take it one step at a time."

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