The Sprightly Spud

The struggle to survive when the games are no longer a fact of life 

The Paris Olympics are well underway. Fuelled by copious quantities of baguette, I’m sure, over 10000 athletes, competing in 329 different events, are preparing to give the performances of their lives. Regardless of their respective discipline, each one has committed countless hours to reaching the elite level of their sport. The dedication goes beyond time at the gym, track or pool. Behind the physical elements of life in professional sport, there is diligent nutrition, family support, and mental resilience. Consequently, being an Olympian is not only a full-time job, but an all-encompassing lifestyle. 

So what happens when the 4 year ‘eat, sleep, train, compete, repeat’, cycle ends?

The sad fact of any sporting career, is that one day you will cease to be able to compete as one of the best. Whether its due to their body no longer being able to withstand and recover from the overwhelming training volume, injury, or burnout, there comes a time when every athlete will have to retire. For individuals who have devoted their lives to a sport, having to stop can be crushing. All of a sudden, you don’t have to spend all day training, you don’t need to worry about recovery protocols, and you can eat what you want. Some athletes may find this freeing, yet others are left with little reason to get out of bed in the morning. 

Notable names

Its easy to assume Olympians are unbreakable. However, some of the most famous names in sport have suffered post retirement. The loss of routine, purpose and structure they face manifests in many different ways, from depression, to addiction, and most heartbreakingly, suicide. 

Bronze medal-winning gymnast, and proud Yorkshireman, Niall Wilson, has spoken incredibly honestly about his personal experience on multiple platforms, including his autobiography. Wilson’s withdrawal from competitive gymnastics was the result of a series of injuries. The first of these was following the Rio 2016 games, and a herniated disk in 2019 left the athlete requiring surgery. Rushing back to training without adequate recovery time lead to nerve damage, and his subsequent retirement in 2021, aged just 24.

In search of a replacement for the thrill of competitive sport, Niall began to not only ‘numb the pain’ with alcohol, but also became addicted to gambling. This is not an unusual vice for sportspeople of his calibre, as the dopamine high of roulette wheels can be comparable to that of winning a medal. The gymnast believes his own addiction was worsened by his innate obsessive personality, which had proven an asset in his pursuit of athletic success, but detrimental in his descent into poor mental health. At his lowest he suffered suicidal thoughts, and is now keen to reinforce to athletes that they are ‘more than their sport’.

“I wanted to be the best gymnast in the world, and then it’s taken away from you. That knocked me for six and shattered my mind.”, Wilson told BBC Sport. 

Recognising he had hit rock bottom, he committed with equal determination to recovery. After seeking help from a therapist and a doctor, he has published a book; ‘The Lessons’, an experienced-based guide to coping with mental health issues. 

Swimming legend, Ian Thorpe, also faced a battle with his own brain when the 30-40 hour training  weeks came to an end. After a nine year career and 5 Olympic golds, the 24 year old opted to step away from competition as a result of no longer being able to cope with the pressure, despite later saying that he believes he would have had another two games in him if this hadn’t been a factor. The Australian was left with a void to fill post-retirement, driving him to alcohol and suicidal thoughts. 

Dame Kelly Holmes MBE is admired by many women as an acme of female sport. Not only a double olympic champion in the 800m and 1500m, but an army sergeant of nine years too, Holmes certainly has no shortage of strength and resilience. Nevertheless, she is proof that no one is immune to mental health battles. In 2005, the runner made the difficult decision to retire from athletics earlier than planned. Though initially aiming to compete in the 2006 Commonwealth games, grief at the loss of a friend to cancer deeply affected her, resulting in the decision to terminate her career at the age of 34. Additionally, she has spoken candidly about her emotional breakdowns, and depression fuelled by the ‘pressure to succeed’ towards the end of her career.

Keen to channel her pain into progress, Holmes founded her own charity – The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust. By putting world class athletes alongside young people, the foundation hopes to equip the next generation with the mindset required to thrive into adulthood. Furthermore, it supports athletes as the step away from professional sport, helping them rediscover their identity and use their skills and experiences for good.

Though these athletes have been able to speak about their mental health, tragically, many do not reach out for help, and are driven to take their own lives. The loss of figures who’ve committed so much to their country should serve as a reminder that so much more needs to be done to support our Olympians. 

The Triggers

Depth of commitment

Whilst any career has the potential to take over your life, professional sportspeople are particularly vulnerable to ‘tunnel vision’ when it comes to their jobs. Both a blessing and a vice, the ability to focus solely on maximising success in your field can be an essential medal – winning trait, yet can also lead to athletes (consciously or subconsciously) neglecting other aspects of their lives. 

Firstly, the pursuit of Olympic calibre can begin in early childhood, with some competitors as young as 11, it goes without saying that training starts at an even earlier age. Consequently, the days, weeks and years that many of us spend studying, dwelling on potential career options, and forging relationships, are instead dedicated to sport. This single-minded approach is necessary if one wants to be the best in the world. Nevertheless, it can have damaging consequences. 

Without the time to spend contemplating career opportunities in their youth, countless athletes are left without a clear employment direction when their Olympic journey ends. For decades their sole purpose has been athletics, and now they are left without any purpose at all, and potentially unemployed too. Aside from the financial stresses this places on their mental health, feeling useless and at a loss of anything to do can be detrimental to their wellbeing. 

In addition to this, the sporting elite can miss out on the opportunity to forge bonds with their peers throughout childhood and university, putting them at risk of having a smaller support circle to soften the blow of their retirement. Though training partners, teammates and coaches are invaluable, often friends who love you regardless of your sport are more comforting at this time. Family relationships may also have been sacrificed, as evenings and weekends in childhood and beyond were dedicated to matches, training and recovery, rather than board games nights and Sunday roasts, for example. All of this can make the end of a sporting career incredible lonely, and make coping with the mental strain it induces all the more difficult. 

However, this is not to say many athletes don’t attend university, devise plans for careers post-sport, and make time for establishing a support network of friends and family. In my view, it is on of the countless responsibilities of coaches to monitor the level of dedication athletes, in particular young ones – are forced to make, as their own narrow-mindedness and determination can easily overpower insight into the potential negative side-effects of the pursuit of gold. 

Loss of Structure

An athlete’s day-to-day is ultra-structure. To fit in all the training, recovery and even food required to be elite, every second is planned and regimented. As a consequence, life can feel empty when they retire, leaving a lot more space for worry and sadness. 

Biological factors

Winning. A euphoric sensation comparable to few others.When there are no more medals or races to win, athletes can be abandoned with a void of serotonin and dopamine to fill. Often they attempt to do this with gambling, drinking, or even drugs, hence why such healthy individuals can be driven to such unhealthy habits. 

Furthermore, the sportspeople who have been treated to daily doses of serotonin over a whole career, can suffer chemical changes in their body when the ‘happy hits’ cease. More research is required to establish the full relationship between decreases in serotonin and depression, yet it is believed there is a causal effect between the two. This goes some way to explain why so many ex-Olympians are victim to chronic low-mood. 

Societal Isolation

The average UK retirement age currently sits around 65. For athletes, it is 33. 

Yes, their bodies may no longer be able to cope with the demands of heroic levels of training, but 33 is by no means elderly. One could view this as an opportunity, with one career complete, you could easily branch into another and seek success of a different kind. However, the aforementioned dedication to sport can leave many with no idea what to do for work, and the subsequent lack of a path to follow that accompanies it. Additionally, any friends of the same age are likely to be in the depths of constructing fulfilling jobs, lifestyles and families, whereas ex-Olympians may leave sport in their early 30s, then find themselves at the very start of these journeys. As a consequence, they face a misalignment between their own stage of life, and their fellow 30 somethings’. Its not difficult to imagine how this could be an outstandingly lonely and isolating position, and a potential trigger for mental illness. 

Identity Loss and Physical Change

Often Olympic athletes become synonymous with their sport. Their sole reason to exist is to play, race, and achieve. The net effect of this is that many view themselves as worthless when they retire, and believe others only love, respect and admire them for their ability as a competitor. 

For successful sportspeople, such as figure skater, Kaetlyn Osmond, retirement can mean losing a pivotal part of your identity. The Canadian described feeling like a ‘boat adrift at sea’ after her 2019 retirement, claiming she wasn’t prepared to finish competing at just 22 years old. All of a sudden, she was left stranded without the validation of others on social media, and felt unable to even go to the gym as a result of her deep sense of loss. 

Despite being a triple Olympic medalist, Osmond had suffered body image issues throughout her career, which were significantly exacerbated when she felt her body change after her intensive training ceased. 

Kaetlyn speaks for countless athletes in her situation, and its easy to see how a loss of self-worth and physical condition could initiate a downward spiral of mental health. 

The Success Stories 

Struggling through athletic retirement is common, however it is by no means inevitable. For a myriad of reasons, plenty of Olympians are able to channel their innate drive to succeed into other pursuits. Whether this is a career related to their sport, a charitable enterprise, or a completely independent career, numerous individuals continue to thrive post-competition. 

American swimmer, Mark Spitz, is a prime example of someone who used the discipline and motivation required to earn him his nine Olympic golds, to excel in a completely unrelated discipline after leaving sport… Initially, Spitz capitalised on his status as a household name, and dabbled in show business, appearing in ads and playing Pete Barlow in ‘Emergency’. Additionally, he began to represent brands including Kodak, General Motors and Swatch. Next, like many notable athletes, he branched into commentary, narrating the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. This wasn’t enough for Spitz, however, and he founded a prosperous Beverly Hills real estate firm. 

Clearly possessing ample entrepreneurial spirit, upon noticing the real estate market slowing, he became a stock broker, with a specialist interest in private equity. On top of all this, he continues to fulfil engagements as a public speaker. 

Mark Spitz is an outstanding demonstration of the fact that athletes can be so much more than their sport, and that the end of a sporting career does not have to mean the end of their success.

Albeit not an Olympian, Michael Jordan is renowned for making one of the most savvy business decisions of all time, which has allowed him to continue to grow both his financial portfolio, and level of status, decades after his retirement from basketball. The Chicago Bull’s superstar is now synonymous with Nike, and the ‘Air Jordan’ shoe, on which his silhouette features. The sneakers are some of the most desirable shoes on the market, and Michael is entitled to 5% royalties on every pair! 

Jordan’s spectacular foresight meant that he could utilise his sporting prowess to continue to prosper into retirement. 

‘Fail to prepare, prepare to fail’. Right? The motto seems to apply to competition, and to life.

Many current GB athletes are already laying the foundations for their post-Olympic endeavours. One of these is Adam Peaty. The Uttoxeter lad made his first Olympic appearance in Rio 2016, when he took the pool by storm. One gold medal and a relay silver later, he had firmly established his place in our hearts. Tokyo saw his dominance continue, though he later battled his own mental turmoil. An injury plunged him into difficulties with depression and alcohol, forcing him to take a break from the sport in 2023. Nevertheless, the man with the lion tattoo has already seen success in Paris, with an emotional silver medal performance. 

Anticipating that racing will not be his whole life forever, Peaty founded ‘AP Race Clinics’ in 2019. Him and his training partner at the time, Edward Baxter, had a vision to transform the standard ‘swim clinic’ into a format that taught young swimmers to race. There is no question that Adam is one of the most outstanding racers in the game, so it makes perfect sense that he should help instil the work ethic that propelled his record-breaking performances. 

By taking the camps on tours of the UK, rather than basing them in just one city, Peaty helps to remove geographical barriers to quality swim coaching for children in more rural areas, such as Cumbria. Inevitably, the Covid pandemic prevented the AP team carrying out their planned 2020 endeavours, which had involved 40 worldwide clinics, reaching as far as the US and Asia. Nevertheless, AP Race Clinics found a solution; they continued offering world-class support digitally through the innovative AP Plus platform, and offered a fully virtual clinic in December 2020. 

Its clear to see how AP Clinics will continue to progress, and hopefully provide Peaty with a sense of valuable purpose many years after he wins his final medal.  

Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill has branched into a slightly different variety of coaching, with her app ‘Jennis’, which specialises in making fitness and healthy living achievable for all women, not just elite athletes. One of the stars of 2012’s ‘Super Saturday’, Ennis had a stellar Olympic career in the heptathlon, and retired in 2016 with two medals to her name, and a gorgeous two year old son, Reggie. Whilst competing in athletics, Jess noted how significantly her menstrual cycle could affect her performance and ability to train proactively. Intrigued, she took it upon herself to research and develop a science based platform that enabled women to ‘regain power over’ their bodies by collaborating with their natural cycles instead of fighting them. The app includes fitness and nutrition programs along with hormonal health education courses and support for the menopause. 

Undoubtedly Ennis inspired a generation of future sportswomen, but it seems she has found even more purpose through putting her years of training and incredible network of experts to good use to support all women. A truly beautiful goal. 

Something Ennis-Hill and Peaty have in common is their children. Interestingly, the effect youngsters have on athletes’ perspectives seems to be exceedingly varied. Obviously, they can motivate them to perform at their best when racing, in order to make them proud and demonstrate the rewards hard work and determination can deliver. Children can also be the reason behind an athletes’ retirement, as they progress into a phase of life where spending time with their little ones is more valuable than training. In addition to this, children can spur ex-athletes to battle any demons they face in retirement, in order for them to be as stable and attentive a parent as they possibly can. For Dame Jess, becoming a mum gave planted the seed for the ethos of Jennis, and in a recent post-race interview, Peaty told us how his son’s love was all he cared about, despite narrowly missing out on a gold medal. Tom Daley – notorious for his use of knitting as a way of maintaining good mental health – has just competed in his fifth games, largely so his little boys had the opportunity watch him perform. 

When it comes to coping with retirement, family relationships are pivotal to supporting athletes and can also serve as the fuel they need to discover a new purpose. 

One of the more ‘typical’ options for careers after retiring from competition is commentary. It goes without saying that there is no one better to narrate a sporting event than someone who has been there, felt the emotions, and lived the adrenaline. Furthermore, ex-athletes often possess the knowledge and expertise to provide an engaging accompaniment to sport, that is still comprehensible to the everyday person. The sticking point for some, however, is whether they have the confidence and charisma required to capture the attention of an audience. Some do it with ease. Becky Adlington and Mark Foster, for example, seem to be born to comment on the swimming, and their palpable excitement about the events is truly charming. 

This said, not all Olympians enjoy the limelight, and choose to apply their invaluable mastery of their trade to coaching instead, preferring to be behind the scenes rather than facing the public. Take Katrina Johnson-Thompson, she is now coached by Aston Moore MBE. Though now in his 68th year, the Jamaican-born triple jumper competed for Great Britain in the Montreal Olympics of 1976. Like commentary, coaching requires a very specific skillset. Not only must the athlete be unwaveringly confident in their skills, but they must also be able to impart their knowledge onto their tutees (rather than just possessing it). Once again this means that not all retired Olympians will prosper as coaches. 

Regardless of how much an athlete may want to take on a position as a commentator or coach, there is quite simply not enough roles for everyone, meaning the potential for a lull of opportunity post-retirement remains.  

Discrepancies Between Sports

Its no secret that incomes range dramatically for professional athletes and Olympians. Additionally, competitors who are able to capitalise on their success by featuring in adverts, representing brands and gaining sponsorships are able to boost their earnings, and some of these deals morph into post-retirement jobs too. Unsurprisingly, this is easier for those in the public eye, like the tennis players and track and field athletes who frequently become household names. For more ‘niche’ sports, such as artistic swimming, this is significantly more difficult. As a consequence, sportspeople in these realms may find it harder to access jobs when their Olympic journeys end. 

Funding in sport is also a key player. Money does not buy happiness, but do higher levels of funding in particular sports mean more support for athletes as they transition into retirement? 

Research from the charity Mind, found that certain sports are taking strides to support the mental health of their athletes, in addition to the physical. Nevertheless, the sports mentioned in the study were all fairly ‘mainstream’ (swimming, athletics etc), and none mentioned specific support for athletes ending their careers.  

The IOC (International Olympic Committee) do seem to be aware of the issue, and are keen to make the transition to civilian life smoother through their Athlete Career Programme. Launched in 2005, the scheme aims to equip elite athletes from across the globe with the training and knowledge they need to embark on a career beyond sport. For athletes who choose to get involved in the program the first step involves identifying how their skills and characteristics developed as a professional sportsperson can be applied to the ‘real world’. Aside from its practical application in identifying a career path to pursue, I would argue that this could have a ‘mood-boosting’ impact in retirees struggling with self-esteem and a loss of identity, as it may help instil in them the idea that they are more than their sport, and their innate qualities of determination and desire to succeed are valuable in countless industries. 

Next, the ACP will support athletes as they make informed decisions about their future, providing the resources which ensure each individual is aware of all their options. When decisions about career direction have been made, the program can direct Olympians to further education or training which will open up a world of career opportunities for them, in addition to prioritising networking within and outside of the sports environment. Not only this, but the ACP is involved in the Youth Olympics too, therefore assisting young athletes in balancing sport and education years before they must consider retirement. 

The ACP scheme does not guarantee employment for ex-Olympians, but it certainly aids in their preparation to face the job market, and arms them with the confidence they may need to embark on a new career path. Someone who felt this effect is David Roberts CBE. Named as one of the greatest male paralympians the UK has ever seen, the Welsh swimmer won 11 Paralympic golds before his retirement, due to illness, just before the 2012 games. He is now an incredibly successful public speaker, passionate about disability awareness in sport.

This is brilliant, however it still relies on the struggling ex-athlete feeling able to reach out for help, therefore vigilance around mental health in retiring Olympians is essential. Undoubtedly, more support is required for retiring athletes, but it does seem like awareness about the brutality of the transition they face is increasing, with more figures feeling able to speak out about their struggles. 

Who’s Next 

Paris 2024 is due to be the last games for a number of starring athletes. Max Whitlock has announced his plans to give up his six hour days in the gym to spend more time with daughter, Willow, a prospect he is, understandably pretty positive about. 

Despite telling the BBC he ‘wants to play forever’, Sir Andy Murray, will make his last appearance on an international court in Paris. The double gold medallist bowed out gracefully with a quarter final defeat in the doubles, alongside partner Dan Evans. Now, 37, and having battled a plague of injuries in the latter stages of his career, Murray was grateful to be able to finish playing on his own terms. What’s next for the Scotsman? – A family holiday and golf, apparently. It goes without saying that Sir Andy will be involved in promoting and expanding tennis as a sport, but he also looks forward to spending more time with wife and four children. He is keen to experience the more ‘mundane’ bits of life that can be so special, such as dropping the kids off at school. 

It must also be said that Murray has an estimated net worth of £84.9m, so life post-tennis will likely be quite pleasant. 

Family time seems to be a uniting theme for athletes taking a step back after Paris. Atheltics icon, Shelley-Ann Fraser Price, has won 3 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze medal for Jamaica thus far, but now claims that her ‘son needs her’. In addition to this Fraser Price is already making strides to improve track and field…

In 2012, she set up the Pocket Rocket Foundation, who’s purpose is to “enrich the lives of student-athletes by supporting their educational development and fostering sustainable community-building initiatives to enhance the lives of students and their families”. Unbeknownst to some, Shelley-Ann began her life in sport running to school barefoot, and hopes to help kids like herself with educational scholarships, and by promoting a balance between sport and tuition. All being well, this will ensure a sustainable, lifelong career for the children the foundation helps.

The family focus bodes well for the future mental health of all the athletes above, as a strong support network is often key to easing the transition away from competition. With luck, they will all prosper post-Paris.