Vivencias de aspirantes olímpicas en la disrupción del ciclo Olímpico Tokio 2020

Abstract

Challenge: Career DisruptionThe postponement of the Olympic and Paralympic games represents a significant career disruption. It potentially involves a loss of identity, motivation and meaning.For early career athletes, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics may have been their first experience at a major games. Early career athletes and athletes struggling with injuries or poor form may see the postponement as a relief and an opportunity to perform even better at the Games in 2020.For late-career athletes, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics could be a final Olympic games, pending retirement. Some late-career athletes may be forced to retire and exit from international competition, which may cause an identity loss (especially if the athlete's athletic identity is her/his primary identity). Other late-career athletes may have to postpone other life goals (education, moving into own house, and starting a family). In both cases, the postponement represents a significant career disruption that may stimulate a series of mental health issues. Strategies to Mitigate Career DisruptionEducate and validate. Use this time to educate the athletes about how the mind works. Teach them that anxiety, grief, worry and anger are perfectly normal human reactions in a time of crises and identity loss. Provide opportunity to consciously discuss and identify their emotions with regards to the recent developments. Not being positive all the time is expected, and making room for negative thoughts and emotions (through mindfulness) actually promotes mental health.Look for opportunities. Support early career athletes in reframing their postponement for future opportunities. Help athletes to use this difficult time to develop strategies to handle adversity and frustrations that will be of benefit for them in their future careers.

Experiencias de carrera dual y salud mental en estudiantes deportistas de alto rendimiento

“…Por ejemplo, el desarrollo de identidades múltiples contribuye a fortalecer el autoestima y confianza del estudiante deportista (Tekavc et al, 2015). Lo mismo sucede con el desarrollo de resiliencia (Zamora-Solé et al, 2022), que genera herramientas para cuidar y fortalecer la SM (Kegelaers et al, 2022). Como expresa Jordana et al (2022) enfrentar estos desafío y convertirlos en beneficios depende de factores internos, pero también de una perspectiva holística y ecológica que intervienen.…”

“…Algunos esperados, como el paso de junior a senior, o la retirada (i.e., transiciones normativas; Jordana et al, 2022Jordana et al, , 2017Torregrossa et al, 2015) y otros inesperados, como el Covid y la disrupción del ciclo olímpico (i.e., no normativas, Pons et al, 2020;Zamora-Solé et al, 2022). Todos ellos suponen un incremento en las demandas a la que el estudiante deportista debe adaptarse y representan un riesgo para su SM (Henriksen et al, 2023).…”