Opinion I Athletes aren’t products, they’re human
4 years, 4 months ago

Opinion I Athletes aren’t products, they’re human

Live Mint  

Kokichi Tsuburaya can’t run and it kills him. That only a few win; that it won’t last; that you will be cast aside; that winning doesn’t always mean long-lasting happiness; that when you are done you are often ready for nothing else. Athletes train themselves to mask weakness, lock away vulnerability and keep—as Phelps says—“pain out of sight”. Bindra is on the International Olympic Committee working group on mental health, which is tasked with creating resources for athletes, raising awareness and starting a campaign to erase stigma. Rohit Brijnath is an assistant sports editor at The Straits Times, Singapore, and a co-author of Abhinav Bindra’s book A Shot At History: My Obsessive Journey To Olympic Gold.

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History of this topic

These Olympic Athletes Were At Their Breaking Point. Here’s How They’re Changing Their Approach In Paris.
4 months, 4 weeks ago

These Olympic Athletes Were At Their Breaking Point. Here’s How They’re Changing Their Approach In Paris.

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Professional athletes endure immense pressure to deliver results, keep sponsors satisfied, and constantly stay in the spotlight. “It’s been a challenge to kind of figure out what that healthy boundary is for my mental health with sport,” Carissa Moore, a five-time world champion regarded by many as one of the greatest female surfers of all time, told …

At Paris, the Olympics make space for mental health too
4 months, 4 weeks ago

At Paris, the Olympics make space for mental health too

Hindustan Times  

Paris: Located on the first floor of the fitness centre inside the Athletes Village rests a first-of-its-kind room. That elite athletes, even the unmatched Michael Phelps kind, aren’t immune to mental health issues really came to the fore around the pandemic Games. An IOC Athlete365 survey revealed “that mental health was one of the top priorities for athletes”, Kirsty Burrows, …

Mental health and the Olympics: How the USOPC is preparing for the toll on athletes
5 months ago

Mental health and the Olympics: How the USOPC is preparing for the toll on athletes

New York Times  

Follow our Olympics coverage from the Paris Games. “Sometimes, it feels really anticlimactic.” Despite one of the most successful sporting careers ever, Michael Phelps battled depression and has been outspoken about the need for more mental health care for athletes. Bartley, who has worked with the USOPC since it created a mental health task force in 2020, said that her …

Biles, Osaka and Phelps spoke up about mental health. Has anything changed for the Paris Olympics?
5 months ago

Biles, Osaka and Phelps spoke up about mental health. Has anything changed for the Paris Olympics?

Associated Press  

Lydia Jacoby was a breakout star in the pool for the United States at the last Summer Games, earning a gold medal in the 100-meter breaststroke and a relay silver. “I do think there still could be more,” track star Gabby Thomas said, “but, I mean, they’re there.” Olympians Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka and Michael Phelps opened doors Three Olympians …

Behind The News
1 year, 7 months ago

Behind The News

ABC  

Cale Matthews, BTN Reporter: It's 6am. Professor Rosie Purcell, Melbourne University: There's an awful lot that we don't know and understand, so this is a group that hasn't really had a lot of attention paid to it, and that's ironic because most mental health issues actually start in this age range of between, say 12 to 25. Harry Bruce: You …

Finding the ‘happy bubble': Mental health key for Olympians
2 years, 11 months ago

Finding the ‘happy bubble': Mental health key for Olympians

Associated Press  

MIDWAY, Utah — Sean McCann peered at the targets through a spotting scope and used a hand-held magnetic board to mark where the bullets hit. Biles’ courage prompted Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history and an athlete who has been up front about his mental health struggles, to proclaim “it’s OK to not be OK.” “It was a …

Mental health among athletes spotlighted in tumultuous 2021
3 years ago

Mental health among athletes spotlighted in tumultuous 2021

Associated Press  

Simone Biles understands now that she was struggling long before she arrived at the Tokyo Olympics, where the unofficial face of the Games and one of the greatest gymnasts of all time was unable to force a smile and push her way through on the world’s biggest stage. Michael Phelps, retired swimmer and winner of a record 23 gold medals, …

We need to do more about player mental health - ITF chief
3 years, 4 months ago

We need to do more about player mental health - ITF chief

The Hindu  

Tennis governing bodies take mental health issues extremely seriously but are aware that more needs to be done to support players in that area, International Tennis Federation chief David Haggerty told Reuters. "Mental health is very, very important," Haggerty, who is also an International Olympic Committee member, said in an interview at the Games. Naomi Osaka's withdrawal from the French …

Simone Biles makes mental health the talk of the Tokyo Games
3 years, 4 months ago

Simone Biles makes mental health the talk of the Tokyo Games

Associated Press  

TOKYO — Brittney Griner has long been open about her ongoing battle with depression, an ailment that triggered suicidal thoughts when she was younger and last year drove her out of the WNBA bubble because the isolation was too much to handle. “If you’re not your best self, you’re not going to be the best in your sport or help …

‘OK not to be OK': Mental health takes top role at Olympics
3 years, 4 months ago

‘OK not to be OK': Mental health takes top role at Olympics

Associated Press  

TOKYO — For decades, they were told to shake it off or toughen up — to set aside the doubt, or the demons, and focus on the task at hand: winning. Now an analyst for NBC’s swimming coverage, he said watching Biles struggle “broke my heart.” “Mental health over the last 18 months is something people are talking about,” Phelps …

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles praised for mental health stance
3 years, 4 months ago

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles praised for mental health stance

Al Jazeera  

US gymnast withdrew from the team and individual all-around Olympic events, saying her mental health took precedence. US gymnastics superstar Simone Biles shocked the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by withdrawing from women’s team and individual all-around contests, in which she was considered a top contender, over what she said were “mental health concerns”. Spanish basketball star and Olympian Pau Gasol said …

Column: ‘We can all learn from her courage’: Simone Biles not alone in mental health struggle
3 years, 4 months ago

Column: ‘We can all learn from her courage’: Simone Biles not alone in mental health struggle

LA Times  

For nearly a decade Simone Biles seemed not only unbeatable but unshakeable. “After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games, in order to focus on her mental health,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement. “Really proud for her for prioritizing mental health and making sure that everyone knows and …

Naomi Osaka says ‘athletes are humans’ in Time magazine cover article about becoming ‘face of athlete mental health’
3 years, 5 months ago

Naomi Osaka says ‘athletes are humans’ in Time magazine cover article about becoming ‘face of athlete mental health’

The Independent  

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our …

Into the open: struggles of the female athlete
3 years, 6 months ago

Into the open: struggles of the female athlete

The Hindu  

In 2019, Utkarsha Pawar, 22, from Pune, began journalling. Added layers of pressure There are two parts to building mental health in athletes: Performance enhancement on field and well-being off field, says Divya Jain, a sports psychologist from Fortis Healthcare. The nuances of women’s sport While we will never know the depth of Naomi Osaka’s mental health condition — she …

Sponsors hail Naomi Osaka's 'courage' on mental health after star's French Open pullout
3 years, 6 months ago

Sponsors hail Naomi Osaka's 'courage' on mental health after star's French Open pullout

Firstpost  

Osaka received criticism by some who say the media events are just “ part of the job." That would explain why so many of them have stuck by Osaka after the four-time Grand Slam champion announced on Monday that she was withdrawing from the French Open because she didn’t want to appear for the requisite news conferences that caused her …

Sponsors hail Naomi Osaka’s ‘courage’ on mental health
3 years, 6 months ago

Sponsors hail Naomi Osaka’s ‘courage’ on mental health

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — A few years ago, a star athlete dropping out of a major tennis tournament over mental health issues might have been seen as a sign of weakness. That would explain why so many of them have stuck by Osaka after the four-time Grand Slam champion announced Monday that she was withdrawing from the French Open because she …

Times columnists talk Naomi Osaka, mental health, the media and seeing athletes ‘as humans’
3 years, 6 months ago

Times columnists talk Naomi Osaka, mental health, the media and seeing athletes ‘as humans’

LA Times  

Naomi Osaka’s initial decision to skip French Open news conferences and her later withdrawal from the tournament due to her battle with depression and anxiety sparked international debate about the role of media and athletes’ mental health. Under those rules — not the media rules, the league’s rules — the postgame news conference format is actually the best and easiest …

Mental Health Struggles Don't Care About 'Success'
3 years, 6 months ago

Mental Health Struggles Don't Care About 'Success'

Huff Post  

Tim Clayton - Corbis via Getty Images Naomi Osaka pulled out of the French Open in order to protect her mental health — a move that brought a lot of praise and trolling. “Anyone that knows me knows I’m introverted, and anyone that has seen me at tournaments will notice that I’m often wearing headphones as that helps my social …

Ahead of Tokyo, a much-needed focus on mental health
3 years, 7 months ago

Ahead of Tokyo, a much-needed focus on mental health

Hindustan Times  

Months before the Tokyo Olympics, these words sound like stating the obvious: “I believed in an equation where gold medal equals happiness.” That equation, as shared by Abhinav Bindra, makes total sense to the Indian athlete. Bindra, a member of the International Olympic Committee’s athlete commission, is also part of the IOC’s Mental Health Working Group that drafted the Mental …

Op-Ed: Are youth sports harming our kids’ mental health?
3 years, 8 months ago

Op-Ed: Are youth sports harming our kids’ mental health?

LA Times  

Members of the Brattleboro, Vt., Union High School’s girls’ varsity soccer team practice on Sept. 8, 2020. Evidence suggests that as young people compete more intensely in sports, gains in mental wellness may be replaced by mental health challenges particular to competitive athletics. Supporting psychological well-being in our young athletes feels especially urgent as we emerge from a pandemic that …

Olympic legends address importance of mental health in sports at Laureus Forum - Sports News
4 years ago

Olympic legends address importance of mental health in sports at Laureus Forum - Sports News

The Hindu  

A group of global sporting stars have come together at the inaugural Laureus Sport for Good Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum even to underline how sport can play to reverse the global mental health crisis among young people. The international field was joined by Laureus Hong Kong Ambassadors Lee Lai Shan, Wong Kam Po, Malina Ngai Man Lin, Alex Fong …

Phelps, Ohno open up about suicide, depression in new doc
4 years, 4 months ago

Phelps, Ohno open up about suicide, depression in new doc

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — Athletes Stephen Scherer, Jeret Peterson and Kelly Catlin have two things in common: They all reached their dream of becoming Olympians, and they all died by suicide. Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history, says he had suicidal thoughts even at the peak of his remarkable swimming career and calls depression and suicide among Olympic athletes …

Michael Phelps is a disciplined narrator in ‘The Weight Of Gold’: Composer Simon Taufique
4 years, 4 months ago

Michael Phelps is a disciplined narrator in ‘The Weight Of Gold’: Composer Simon Taufique

The Hindu  

“It has been a magnificent learning experience,” says composer Simon Taufique, whose name is attached to the HBO documentary The Weight Of Gold, which is executive produced by Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps. Since the documentary’s release, Simon notes that more people have come forward with accounts of mental distress, or even with questions about mental health awareness. Simon, who lives …

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