'I'm being forced to choose between Olympics and OnlyFans'

A British canoeist has been banned from competing and says he is being forced to take betwixt his Olympic dream and his OnlyFans account.

Kurts Adams Rozentals, who competes successful nan individual canoe slalom, was suspended successful April by governing assemblage Paddle UK pursuing "allegations" astir his posts connected societal media.

Paddle UK removed Rozentals from their World Class Programme - UK Sport's lottery-funded inaugural to put athletes connected nan people for nan Olympics - pending an investigation.

While Paddle UK person refused to explain nan quality of nan allegations, Rozentals suspects it is owed to him creating contented connected subscription website OnlyFans, which is known for hosting big content.

"I person been posting videos (on Instagram) that are consciously made to beryllium edgy successful bid to thrust conversions to my 'spicy contented page' (on OnlyFans), to money this eventual dream of going to nan Olympics," Rozentals told BBC Sport.

Rozentals, who has much than 10,000 'likes' connected OnlyFans, has posted 39 videos and complete 100 photos connected nan website.

He says he has earned much than £100,000 since creating his OnlyFans relationship successful January.

He said he received a telephone from a Paddle UK typical past period to show him that he was suspended from competing and could nary longer interaction immoderate of nan unit aliases athletes connected nan programme.

"I benignant of froze and I couldn't judge nan words I was proceeding because this is what I put my life into this is everything I do," Rozentals added.

"My characteristic astatine this point, my identity, is athletics and I want to beryllium a master jock chasing my Olympic dream."

Rozentals created his ain OnlyFans relationship successful January 2025 successful bid to thief money his training programme and he posts videos and pictures connected his Instagram relationship to thrust viewers towards nan content.

Each jock connected Paddle UK's programme receives an yearly assistance of £16,000 to support their training.

But Rozentals says nan programme's backing is obscurity adjacent enough.

"I don't cognize really overmuch you request but it's surely not £16,000," said Rozentals.

"When you person to screen rent, travel, food... and astir athletes who train full-time are each surviving successful London.

"They're very fortunate to person genitor backing - I wasn't. I ne'er had nan expertise to move to London because of financial struggles truthful I was ever doing nan recreation from nan East Midlands, wherever I live, to London, back-and-forth, back-and-forth."

Rozentals, who won individual C1 metallic astatine nan World Under-23 Championships successful 2023, is awaiting nan result of nan investigation.

PaddleUK opportunity Rozentals' prohibition is not disciplinary action, but an "interim action" and a "neutral enactment designed to protect each parties" and to "safeguard different athletes, staff, and volunteers owed to nan quality of nan allegation".

"The investigation has been referred to independent investigation work Sport Integrity," nan governing assemblage said.

It added: "Paddle UK is committed to ensuring a safe and unfastened situation for all, and interim action nether nan Athlete Disciplinary Policy is only taken wherever basal and proportionate."

Paddle UK's Athlete Disciplinary Policy lists "offensive usage of societal media" and "indecent, violative aliases obscene behaviour" arsenic examples of gross misconduct that could lead to de-selection.

Asked if he will extremity posting connected OnlyFans successful bid to sphere his spot connected nan programme, Rozentals says he should not person to take betwixt financial information and his Olympic dream.

"This is nan hardest determination that I've ever faced successful my life," said Rozentals.

"I came to nan realisation astir why I started doing this past wintertime aft years of struggle, years of surviving connected nan edge, my mum moving 90 hours-a-week, having bailiffs astatine nan door.

"I'm going to find a measurement wherever we don't person to struggle, wherever my mum tin bask her life and I'm capable to put everything into this athletics because erstwhile you're reasoning astir really to salary nan rent this period and you're opinionated astatine nan commencement line, that's not very conducive [to performing well].

"It's a reliable determination but unless thing changes successful nan measurement athletes are paid I don't spot a measurement of moving pinch Paddle UK".

Olympic golden medallist Jack Laugher created his ain OnlyFans account successful 2024 to "make ends meet".

The diver won bronze for Great Britain successful nan men's synchronised 3m springboard successful Paris past summertime aft metallic and bronze successful Rio 8 years earlier.

"There's thing near to nan imagination erstwhile you conscionable deterioration trunks each nan clip and he conscionable posts pictures of himself arsenic you would spot him if he was successful a competition," Laugher's begetter said.

"It makes other money for him and he's pleased to person nan opportunity, but it's thing that you couldn't show your grandma."

Funding assemblage UK Sport said it would not remark connected an ongoing investigation but added: "Our Athlete Performance Award (APA) is designed arsenic a publication towards an athlete's surviving and basal sporting costs.

"In March, we announced an summation successful nan worth of APAs astatine each levels. They shape conscionable 1 constituent of nan support package connected connection for funded athletes successful Olympic and Paralympic sport."

By BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team

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