Cathal Dennehy: Identity crisis - the risk of going all-in on sport

Elizabeth Egan, who has spent two decades working with sportspeople on their lifestyle and personal development, would like for those around athletes to "see them as people first".

Three-time Olympian Eoin Rheinisch is now the head of performance and life skills at the Sport Ireland Institute. Pic: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

Back in 2018, the Professional Players Federation in the UK released research that said something notable, and troubling, about the nature of professional sport.

It covered 800 former professionals, across various sports, and found that just 29% got to choose when they stopped playing professionally. For most, the sport had retired them, usually through injury or their contract not being renewed. Two years after finishing their careers, only 50% of former players felt in control of their lives, while 54% had concerns about their mental and emotional wellbeing after retirement, with 7% seeking help for drug, alcohol or gambling problems.