South Africa: Why Professional Athletes Find Retirement So Difficult

Retiring from elite sport can be a complex issue for many sportspeople, who are often faced with emotional or psychological challenges.

Listen to this article 7 min Listen to this article 7 min Think back to when you met someone for the first time. One of the first questions you asked, or were asked, was likely: “what do you do for work?”

It’s a polite, innocuous and socially ingrained way of getting to know more about a person. But it also demonstrates the central role of our professional lives as part of our personal identities.

For professional athletes, their careers, exploits and recognition can become the defining aspect of their identity.

So what happens when sporting careers end?

The transition to retirement, across professions and countries, can be extremely tough to navigate.

It can be especially difficult for elite sportspeople, who can experience retirement as a loss of identity, connected to their sense of achievement, meaning and control in life.

How retirement impacts athletes

A common saying with many sportspeople is “athletes die twice” – once when they retire and again at their death.

Former Wallaby Brendan Cannon has spoken of this difficulty:

“[People] want to talk to you about what you used to be, and all you want to focus on is what you want to become.”…