With the support of the Advanced Olympic Research Grant Programme provided by the Olympic Studies Centre of the IOC, we conducted research on the impact of athletic retirement on athletes’ mental health and well-being. Specifically, the project developed practical guidelines for support services on how athletes should be assisted before, during, and after athletic retirement. The final report is published in the IOC online library and can be consulted here. On December 1, an online international congress will be organised where the results of this project will be presented.
The project considers athletic retirement as a process consisting of three different phases (i.e., before, during and after athletic retirement) in which support to athletes should be approached differently. Therefore, both general and phase-specific guidelines were developed throughout the project.
A visual overview of the guidelines developed can be found underneath:
More information: https://spmb.research.vub.be/en/ioc-project-how-should-athletes-be-supported-before-during-and-after-athletic-retirement or email sofie.smismans@vub.be and simon.defruyt@vub.be