Roles and influences of Olympic athletes’ entourages in athletes’ preparation for career transition out of sport

Abstract

The aims of the present study were to (a) examine roles and influences of Olympic athletes’ entourages in the latter stages of their sporting careers, in terms of helping athletes to prepare for career transitions; and (b) identify similarities and differences of athletes’ experiences between the Republic of Ireland and South Korea. Both Olympians (n=4) and their entourages (n=7) from the Republic of Ireland and South Korea were invited to participate in the study. The data were collected through individual interviews and analysed via thematic analysis. The findings indicated that athletes generally had a low degree of readiness for retirement and had relatively small social support networks. Athletes believed that their close others play important roles in developing their readiness for retirement. In the process of post-sport life adjustment, the current study also revealed that there was some differences between athletes’ expected and received support. In addition, the findings indicated that the Republic of Ireland and South Korea have different sport contexts and the existence of the athlete support programme influenced Irish athletes’ career transition experiences. Examining the interactions between athletes and entourages and athletes from different sports and cultures were recommended for further research.