The International Olympic Committee (IOC) released results from a wide-ranging survey to assay how the challenges athletes are experiencing during the pandemic and the ensuing lockdown. According to the Athlete 365 Survey Findings, there were over 4000 respondents across the globe, of which 80 percent were athletes, with the remainder described as “entourage” and “stakeholders”. Six percent of respondents were from the U.S.
Of the challenges described by athletes, 56 percent found it hard to train effectively, and 50 percent struggled to remain motivated. When asked, “What are you currently finding most challenging?”, thirty-two percent responded managing their mental health.
Last month was mental health awareness month. The USPOC maintains a web page to serve as a portal for mental health-related resources. The USOPC also has a mental health task force. (Eileen Carey, Director of U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing is on that task force.)
The survey also revealed that the needs of stakeholders were focused around event organization, communicating with athletes, and maintaining relationships with sponsors.
You can find the full survey results here via a document posted to the insidethegames.biz website.
(If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, you can reach out to 800-273-8255, and speak to a trained mental health professional.)
