CAN Fund gives over $1,000,000 to Canadian Athletes, marking the 2 year countdown to the London Games

A snapshot of the athletes who applied for funding from our summer 2010 athlete application:

• A record 545 applications from athletes across Canada seeking direct financial support.
• 386 (71%) are summer athletes training for London 2012.
• The remaining 159 (29%) are winter athletes training for Sochi 2014, including 35 medalists from Vancouver.
• 411 (75%) of these athletes work or attend school while training full time.
• Over 1/3 (36%) of the summer athlete applicants are not only the best in Canada, but they are the best in the world! (ranked top 10)
• 58% of these summer athletes who have a world ranking of 1-10 have negative net incomes.

Robert Gibson- Rowing
CAN FUND Means I CAN: Buy a training boat- $5000

Kia Byers - Canoe/Kayak
CAN Fund means I CAN: Not worry about food and paying rent allowing me to focus solely on the task at hand

Hugues Fournel - Canoe/Kayak
CAN Fund means I CAN: I'm speechless, I can train with the best athletes in the world

Carol Huynh - Wrestling
CAN Fund means I CAN: Afford basic living expenses

Malindi Elmore - Athletics
CAN Fund means I CAN: Go to Europe to finish my competitive season and pay off some of my credit card debt

Click here to view photos "CAN Fund is ...".

There is still more work to do. Our goal now is to clear the 350 athletes on our waitlist so they too CAN have what they need to succeed.

Canadian Athletes Now Fund is grateful for the support of the thousands of individual and corporate donors across Canada who proudly contribute to the Fund's efforts of raising awareness and funding for our Canadian Athletes.

We would like to extend a special thank you to our CAN Fund monthly donors. Knowing you're there every month gives us the consistency we appreciate in our crazy "always asking for money" world. Also, to all the individuals who have joined our "We All CAN Do What We CAN" campaign and created their own fundraiser, thank you for your initiative and sharing your passion.

To all those who donate through the United Way, thank you for choosing Canadian athletes. And to the hundreds of companies who have contributed funding, expertise and resources thank you for investing in excellence, your generous contributions have made this announcement possible.