Athlete mental health in the Olympic/Paralympic quadrennium: a multi-societal consensus statement

Abstract

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“Time for Recovery” or “Utter Uncertainty”? The Postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Through the Eyes of Olympic Athletes and Coaches. A Qualitative Study

“…Now everything is “up in the air” again and there is a certain insecurity” (id14). There is a growing awareness within the field of sport psychology that even in a “normative” Olympic cycle, athletes are prone to disappointment in their Olympic endeavor, which might impact their well-being and ultimately their mental health negatively ( Henriksen et al, 2020 ). With this in mind, the extended preparation phase caused by the postponement understandably represents an important challenge for Olympic aspirants.…”

The COVID-19 pandemic and Olympic/Paralympic athletes’ developmental challenges and possibilities in times of a global crisis-transition

“…Within the athlete career (sport psychology) literature Olympic/Paralympic Games are considered as a career change event (Samuel et al, 2016) and as a multi-phase transition process (Stambulova et al, 2012;Wylleman et al, 2012) with several meta-transitions (i.e., transitions within a bigger transition) between the phases (Schinke et al, 2015). In the recent multi-societal consensus statement (Henriksen et al, 2020) on the Olympic/Paralympic quadrennium and athletes' mental health, the authors outlined a "normative" Olympic/Paralympic cycle with related opportunities and challenges, changes in sport environment, and relevant changes in coordinating efforts of the support providers across the Pre-Games phase (with early and late preparation sub-phases), the During-Games phase, and the Post-Games phase. Recommendations to various stakeholders on how to support a healthy quadrennium are suggested based on the authors' experiences working with athletes.…”

“…1 The first of these editorials (Schinke, Papaioannou, Henriksen et al, 2020) was conceived during March-April of 2020, and targeted Olympians/ Paralympians' challenges and short-term strategies, a recurring topic in the IJSEP (e.g., Terry &Si, 2015 andSchinke &. The mental health of Olympic/Paralympic athletes has also been the launching point of a multi-societal think tank series, led by the International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP; Henriksen et al, 2020).…”

Amateur and Recreational Athletes’ Motivation to Exercise, Stress, and Coping During the Corona Crisis

“…These measures profoundly changed our interactions, including those of the sporting world. Since then, the physical and psychological consequences of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on athletes have been described in several position papers and editorial statements (e.g., Association for Applied Sport Psychology; International Society of Sport Psychology: Henriksen et al, 2020 ). Specifically, sport science professionals and scientists have been asked to support athletes in overcoming this crisis of uncertainty (Leisterer et al, under review) and to provide guidance both during (e.g., Andreato et al, 2020 ) and after the crisis.…”