Comparatively speaking, sporting careers are short and somewhat fleeting. It is not uncommon for professional athletes to feel a sense of loss of identity when retiring from a career in sport. Identity helps us to connect with others as well as to our sense of self. For may of us, our identities are rooted in our relationships as well as the activities we take part in.
On this episode, I interview Mark Richardson, a former world class 400m runner and Olympic silver medalist. During his athletics career, Mark experienced some amazing highs but also some incredible lows. And while his exploits on the track remain firmly affixed to the pinnacle of Great Britain’s track and field Olympics history, athletics is just one part of his story.
Mark’s specialism, the relay, is an appropriate metaphor for life itself. Most of us are in a state of constant growth and development, our sense of self undergoing several metamorphoses throughout our lives.
Change isn’t inherently bad, but it can be destabilising, especially when you’re not prepared for it. While Mark’s transition out of professional sport was a challenging one, it wasn’t debilitating.
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