Athletics is one of the most popular pastimes in our country. According to Candice Williams, PhD, LPC sports psychotherapist, who also works with Alkeme Health, “Sports events promote a sense of solidarity among fans who experience a greater sense of community as a result of their shared love for a team or athlete. “Standing behind an Olympian – be it the world record breaking track star Sydney McLaughlin, the most successful runner in history Allyson Felix or the experienced beach volleyball gold medalist April Ross – can make the audience feel connected in a time of isolation and that has taken a unique toll on the world’s collective mental health.

However, as we learned during this year’s Games, the athletes’ desire to overcome adversity and win at all costs comes at a high price for participants. “There is a gap between what these athletes are as people and what we actually understand about them at home,” says Ali Feller, race spokesman, journalist and presenter of the Ali in the running show Podcast. “It’s like we just want them to perform and win gold – and that’s unrealistic and unfair in many ways.”

As Dr. Williams points out that this year an unprecedented number of athletes – at the Olympics and beyond – have not clenched their teeth and struggled through injuries and mental health problems. Competitors like Simone Biles, who was canceled because of the twists and turns from three events, and Naomi Osaka, who was fined $ 15,000 for declining during the French Open press interviews to protect her mental health, have shown us that athletes come first. “Athletes normalize that it’s okay to be wrong,” says Dr. Williams. “As a result of Naomi and Simone’s decision to focus on their mental health, we have seen the recognition of more and more black women who have chosen to take better care of themselves, reclaim their time, set better boundaries, and die Effects burnout has on their mental and physical health. “

In her podcast, Feller wants to highlight who athletes are outside of the sport, and she says that in many ways social media has been the catalyst for people to see through the muscles and find out what makes an athlete. “Aliphine Tuliamuk came back from having a baby and decided to [run the marathon] “When the pandemic broke out and everything was postponed,” says Feller. “She won the Olympic marathon tests, which feels like a long time ago. She was super honest [on Instagram], documents her return to running. She has her baby with her [in Tokyo]that she didn’t know was going to happen and she is breastfeeding. She is someone else who is so easy to cheer on. “

One of them was Olympic gymnast Samuel Mikulak, who used his YouTube channel at the end of 2020 to share it this year’s Olympic Games would be his last. Regarding a recurring wrist injury and the mental strain of training in a four-year Olympic cycle, Mikulak said, “I felt like gymnastics wasn’t really fulfilling for so long until I got my Olympic medal. During the quarantine, I had this whole revelation like: you know what? I am happier than ever in my entire life and I don’t do gymnastics. Even if I don’t achieve these goals, I’ll still be so damn happy. ”Mikulak finished sixth in the finals on the parallel bars in Tokyo.

Behind every athlete are thousands of these stories that show that perseverance, determination and a desire to win, whether we watch or not, and we are fortunate enough to receive this memory every four years. But just as a track star’s splits could inspire you to rev up your own engine, Dr. Williams that hearing the stories of athletes especially in these games will inspire us to share our own. “Embracing a life without a script and unplanned was the motto for a number of athletes last year. However, it has allowed them to recover from the tough stuff and realize how resilient they are amid the challenges that happen in and around them, ”she says. “My hope is that spectators and non-athletes alike understand that we athletes must celebrate with as much compassion and empathy as we praise their athleticism.” Williams demands is a new kind of camaraderie – and that is ours.

Because yes, having someone cheer on the world’s biggest sports stage means a lot, but supporting competitors – who have unique stories and love the sport in all its facets as much as we do – means so much more.

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