“Career transitions’ are a major topic of study in sport psychology and none arguably has a bigger impact on sports people than retirement. There have been many examples over the years, borne out by the research, of professional athletes that have struggled to deal with retirement. Alcoholism, drug abuse and depression have all been recorded as issues faced by ex-athletes.
It’s good, then, to see swimmers like Rebecca Adlington openly talking about retirement and what she’d like to do. Many of the problems associated with retirement stem from being unprepared and not having planned for life after sport. Of course, the lottery funded set up in the UK is designed to support preparation not only for the Olympics but for real life, which can hit with a bang.
Read the full article at swimnews.com.
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