Sunday Pick: After the Glory Fades | Good Sport
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Hey, TED Talks Daily listeners, I'm Elise Hugh.
What happens to athletes when they can no longer compete?
Today, we have an episode of another podcast from the TED Audio Collective, handpicked by us for you. Competition can be healthy. For athletes, competitive sports can offer structure, community, and purpose. But what happens when, because of injury or age, they can't play anymore? This week, we're bringing you another great episode from Good Sport. Host Jodi Avergan talks to aging experts and former professional athletes to ask where that competition goes when you can't compete anymore. But this episode isn't just for athletes. It's for anyone who could use some grace and direction when we realize that we must close a chapter in our own lives. If you want more sports content from TED or just want to see the world through a new lens, check out Good Sport wherever you get your podcasts.
Learn more about the TED Audio Collective at audiocollective.ted.com.
There's this picture of me after we lost to Canada in Tokyo 2020. It was a really bad game played by our team. And I just had a moment with myself on the field.
In the photo she's talking about, Carly's sitting on a ball in the middle of a field. Her head is in her hands. She's staring down at the green grass in front of her. There's no one else in the picture. No spectators, no teammates. It really looks like Carly's alone and in despair.
I was upset. Yeah, I was pissed.
Most people who saw that photo were probably thinking, oh, she's just really upset. The U.S. lost in the semifinals. They're not going to get a shot at the gold medal. But there's so much more going on there that we didn't know.
Yeah, that was me just having a moment, just reflecting that this was my last world event.
Her last world event. Before the Olympics, Carly had decided it was time to hang up her cleats, time to retire. No more Olympics, no more World Cups. And I'd imagine she hoped her last game on the world stage would have ended with a gold medal around her neck. But it was not to be.
You know, it was heartbreaking. It was gut-wrenching. You always have this image in your mind of how you would like things to play out. And life doesn't always give you exactly what you want.
Well, it's like sports teaching you one last lesson on the way out.
Exactly.
Carly didn't get her storybook ending. Not every career can end on a high note. But that's sports. It's simply the fact that for all of us, there comes a time when the sport we play and love, and our ability or desire to play it at the level we're used to, passes us by. In sports, retiring is kind of a strange and humbling thing. You spend years devoting yourself completely to training, competing, chasing that next gold medal or championship or record. And then one day, usually with most of your life still ahead of you, you're done. When they face retirement, athletes put something we all face, aging, into sharper relief.
How do athletes cope with the transition out of competitive sports?
Both in terms of the body, it breaks down, and something more existential. I was one type of person, defined by the things I love. Now that that's over, what am I? I've been going through this myself lately. For most of my life, playing top-level sports, which, as I've talked about on this show, was mostly Ultimate Frisbee, it shaped my life. Every day was filled with playing or training for tournaments. My social circle was made up of people I played sports with. The field was where I could focus my drive and work out my frustrations. And it was an ego boost. I'll cop to liking the fact that I knew that I was very, very good at something. And then my body started giving out. A couple torn ACLs, continuously pulled hamstrings, Achilles surgery.
I just couldn't bring it anymore. I needed to stop playing. I knew that. But then it's like all those things that I love, they just go away. What a racket.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:31
2
What happens to athletes when they can no longer compete?
0:31–3:50
3
How do athletes cope with the transition out of competitive sports?
3:50–10:01
4
What lessons can be learned from retiring athletes?
10:01–15:46
5
How does aging affect athletes' identities?
15:46–21:50
6
What new paths do retired athletes explore after sports?
21:50–35:55
7
How do athletes redefine success after retirement?
35:55–39:45
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from TED Talks Daily
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