Supporting Athlete Wellbeing During A Global Pandemic: The case of COVID-19

ABSTRACT

In January 2020, the outbreak of the Corona virus across the globe caused the World Health Organization to issue warnings of an international pandemic on a scale never before seen. The world ground to a halt within a matter of weeks. This chapter explores the reactions, feelings and reflections of the first ten weeks of lockdown in England of Josh - a Performance Lifestyle Advisor for the English Institute of Sport - and the elite swimmers he supports. Salient events from the lockdown period - such as the move to land-based training, the delay of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the rising of social justice movements - are theorised to explore both the practical and existential challenges that arose from home confinement. The chapter concludes with considerations of how the COVID-19 pandemic might serve as a catalyst to reconceptualise staff and athlete mental health and wellbeing in a design that surpasses prioritising performance and, instead, seeks to prioritise the person first and the athlete second. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Natalie Campbell, Abbe Brady and Alison Tincknell-Smith.