Olympic athletes defy gravity and impress audiences worldwide, but many struggle financially on the road to those Games. Some athletes in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics used online crowdfunding to pay for expenses while training for the Games or even to help get loved ones to South Korea. While a small group of athletes gets rich in the quest for Olympic glory, there is a harsh reality for others.

Team USA luger Chris Mazdzer won a silver medal in individual men's luge this year, becoming the first American man to ever medal in the event. But it almost didn't happen. He thought he might have to get out of the sport a couple of weeks ago.

"I wanted to stay and do it for another four years… but… the thought of staying in the sport without being able to make anything or to be able to give back, just even to pay rent, it's a really serious thing that people don't know exists," Mazdzer told CBS News' Dana Jacobson.

While he savors the victory, he remembers the struggle.

"I was a bartender. I worked at banquets and restaurants. So it's a fight to get to that level. But if you're as committed, you'll do everything," Mazdzer said.

Patrick Quinn, an agent representing several athletes at the Games, said there's a "huge" financial disparity among Olympic athletes.

"When you talk about an extreme of a Lindsey Vonn and a Shaun White, and the vast majority of the Olympians, it's a whole different world. It's the first class to coach for sure," Quinn said.

Unlike many other countries, the U.S. federal government does not fund Olympic programs. In 1978, Congress turned over the job of representing American athletes to the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), a non-profit. The USOC reported $339 million in revenue in 2016, while the International Olympic Committee (IOC) makes billions of dollars from broadcasting rights and sponsorship deals.