What Comes Next?

As a retired figure skater my-self, I have struggled with many of the same issues as the skaters I spoke to for this story. Conversing with them helped me realize I am certainly not alone and that these struggles are, in fact, perfectly normal.

Elite athletes are conditioned to believe if we buckle down and really focus, we can push through any obstacle in our path. Feelings of insecurity are seen as a weakness. While this may have helped us achieve our goals in skating, it often creates obstacles to finding peace away from the ice.

With hard work, dedication and a lot of sacrifices, each of the athletes I spoke to achieved their childhood dreams of becoming Olympians, but after retiring in their mid-20s to early 30s, all were left to face the same question: ‘What comes next?’

The fortunate ones move on to a second career and throw themselves into it with the same passion and voraciousness they did when pursuing their sporting goals. But there are others who find themselves feeling lost, without a goal or a purpose.

For many athletes, transitioning out of the competitive world is more challenging than any struggle they faced on the field of play.

Frequently, they endure this transition in silence, afraid to speak out, which can lead to depression and, in rare cases, suicide.

In a 2019 study, published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, psychologists examined roughly 1,600 retired elite athletes. They found 26 percent of their subjects exhibited symptoms of anxiety and depression.

ASHLEY WAGNER

From the age of 6, the dream for Ashley Wagner was to go to an Olympic Winter Games.

Ashley Wagner, a World silver medalist, has also encountered a few difficulties finding her identity outside of skating. When