How has the pandemic affected the mental health of elite sportspeople?

.....The French international and world cup winner, Paul Pogba, recently opened up about the effect COVID had on his confidence. The physical setbacks that he experienced manifested themselves mentally as he wasn’t meeting the expectations he once had of himself. As Cambridge students, we can relate to this. On many occasions, to the detriment of our mental health, we are prone to basing our self-esteem on academic performance, particularly in comparison to our peers. The main difference is that we can try to convince ourselves that grades do not define us. However, in the case of an elite sportsperson, their physical performance very much does define them – it is their life and their income. Their belief in themselves is built upon comparisons to other athletes, most especially in team sports like football......   ...more

Bethany`s Notes: A good read to understand how elite athletes are dealing with this pandemic. With the Olympic games still in question this could be a generation where an athlete just missed in 2016 and is ready for 2021 but it could never happen. Athletes at this level are very much defined by their sport...including the income necessary for basic needs.