Decathlete Jeremy Taiwo Awarded $10,000 During GoFundMe’s Global Olympic Athlete Competition

On Wednesday,  GoFundMe dubbed decathlete Jeremy Taiwo the winner of its global Olympic athlete competition. This event was announced last month as a way to help athletes achieve their Olympic dreams.

The crowdfunding portal revealed the Olympian who secures the most funds in a campaign between June 27th and July 15th will win the competition’s $10,000 prize. Here’s the breakdown of the contest’s rules:

• How to Qualify: Athletes must be an Olympian on the Road to Rio. They are only eligible if they have already qualified for the Olympics or if they are participating in an upcoming Olympic trial.
• How to Win: The competition starts on Monday, June 27th at 12 pm PT through Friday, July 15th at 12 pm PT. If an athlete does not have a GoFundMe campaign and wishes to compete for the $10,000 prize, they can create a campaign and raise funds through Friday, July 15th.

To win this prize, Taiwo captured over $33,000 from nearly 300 individual donors through his GoFundMe campaign at the time the contest was ending. Due to a series of major surgery, Taiwo was unable to compete at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. He is looking to raise $47,000 for specialized shoes for his event, along with coaching, strength training, physical therapy, nutrition and travel expenses. He shared:

“I am so grateful, and amazed, that GoFundMe is awarding me this, after being the platform and reason I could achieve my goal in the first place. It takes a village to raise a decathlete, and I am so proud to be a part of this community, and for the continued support from my home state of Washington, for making this all possible.”

Rob Solomon, GoFundMe’s CEO, added:

“I’m thrilled that a dedicated, world-class athlete like Jeremy Taiwo has won this GoFundMe competition. To attain his level of athletic achievement in the face of financial challenges takes tremendous sacrifice, hard work, and community support. Campaigns like Jeremy’s show what GoFundMe is all about: empowering people to help people achieve their dreams.”