High performance athletes confront a myriad of mental health challenges throughout their career. According to a multi-societal consensus statement, these challenges vary across distinct phases of the Olympic/Paralympics journey, encompassing the pre-, during-, and post-Games. This underscores the need for heightened mental health awareness as well as tailored support within each phase of the quadrennium cycle.
Use double quotes to find documents that include the exact phrase: "aerodynamic AND testing"
Use double quotes to find documents that include the exact phrase: "aerodynamic AND testing"
Not many athletes can claim both summer and winter Paralympian status. Liam Hickey is one of those rare athletes. He represented Canada at the 2016 Paralympics in wheelchair basketball and the 2018 and 2022 Paralympics in Para ice hockey. Ultimately, financial pressure and time constraints compelled him to focus solely on Para ice hockey. The Paralympic Athlete Transfer Taskforce is learning from experiences like Liam’s to support athletes navigating transfer or participating in multiple sports.
Paralympian Brianna Hennessy sees her combination of sports (wheelchair rugby and Para canoe and kayak) as inherently compatible. One sport relies on pushing, the other on pulling, making her an all-round better athlete. Experiences like Hennessy’s are part of the reason that the Canadian Paralympic Committee and Own the Podium are collaborating to develop an “Athlete Transfer System” that will provide support to athletes who wish to switch sports or compete in multiple sports.
A Para athlete who chooses to pursue a new sport or get involved in a second sport, or whose circumstances force them to leave their sport, is engaging in a process called “athlete transfer.” The Paralympic Athlete Transfer Task Force has undertaken research to understand athlete transfer experience and inform future policies and pathways.
Less research has focused on doping in Paralympic sport than Olympic sport. A recent study focused on Para sport coaches showed that they identify doping as an issue in Para sport and that it often stems from financial incentives and pressure to win.
Sporting events leave a large carbon footprint between the built infrastructure and emissions from participants and spectators. The International Olympic Committee and around 300 other signatories have agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. This past summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham pledged to leave a carbon neutral legacy. Team Canada implemented its own plan to be carbon neutral at the Games.
Today is Bell Let’s Talk Day, a day to raise awareness and combat stigma surrounding mental illness in Canada.
According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), as many as 35% of elite athletes experience mental health symptoms and disorders. Fortunately, conversations about mental health are becoming more normalized in high performance sport. Check out the IOC’s Mental Health in Elite Athletes Toolkit for tips and strategies to help protect and promote the mental health of the high performers in your life.