Canoeist Klass Francisks Rozentals quits Team GB for Latvia over OnlyFans controversy
His brother, Kurts Adams Rozentals, was suspended by Paddle UK last year over explicit content he posted online
By Callum Wells
Klass Francisks Rozentals will no longer compete for Team GB, choosing to represent Latvia after setting up an OnlyFans account to help fund his canoe slalom career.
The content creator made the decision amid growing scrutiny around athletes using adult content platforms to support themselves financially.
His brother, Kurts Adams Rozentals, was suspended by Paddle UK last year over explicit content he posted online. Kurts had launched his page to cover the costs of competing, later claiming he made around $130,000 in months – compared with the roughly $21,000 annual grant he had been receiving.
“This is happening to athletes right now. Forced to choose between financial stability or the Olympics” – Klass Francisks Rozentals writing on Instagram
Klass has since followed a similar route, saying more conventional work wasn’t compatible with elite-level training. He said jobs including bartending and construction left him without enough time to properly prepare for competition.
Rather than risk facing action from Paddle UK, he has now switched sporting nationality and will compete for Latvia, where his family is from.
Addressing the situation on Instagram, he wrote: “This is happening to athletes right now. Forced to choose between financial stability or the Olympics.
“I started my page to fund my sports career after dedicating my life to it, but never receiving funding. But I received so much backlash…”
He added: “For a canoe slalom athlete chasing the Olympics, one four-year cycle is roughly £100,000 to £180,000 in total costs.
Kurts Adams Rozentals’s suspension was reportedly linked to a sexual act filmed on a plane
“I tried bartending and construction work, but never had the time to train to compete.”
Klass said the income has allowed him to continue pursuing the sport, but warned the situation remains uncertain: “I can finally afford my dream. But knowing it could be taken away at any time because of how I find it sucks.
“Two choices – either normalise paying athletes reasonable salaries. Or normalise them funding themselves through whatever means necessary.”
British divers Jack Laugher, Noah Williams and Matty Lee have all launched OnlyFans accounts in recent years, although they have continued competing without sanction.
Kurts’s suspension, however, was reportedly linked to the explicit nature of his content. It is believed to have included a sexual act filmed on a plane, which Paddle UK said brought the sport into “serious disrepute”.