Georgia Sheehan stared at the screen.

The wait felt as long as any training session. Every day had been dedicated to this moment, every strained sinew, every buzz of the alarm clock at 4.30am, every sacrifice led to this: the final scoreboard of the Australian Women’s 3 Meter Springboard Olympic trial, for Paris 2024. Only the top two athletes would qualify.

She stared at the screen.

Fifteen years. Thirty hours of training per week. A dream to call herself an Olympian.

Sometimes life is measured in increments so small, you’d barely notice them. The increment that changed Georgia’s life was 0.5 points. That was the gap between her and second place. The gap between Paris, and nothing.

Georgia shared her story in a Vogue article. But she is far from alone in experiencing this loss, this devastation, what she calls a “peculiar ache that comes with almost-but-not-quite achieving your dreams.

“When the final scoreboard appeared, my name was in third place, and with it, my vision of an Olympic debut shattered. The pain was excruciating. Fifteen years of relentless effort, all seemingly for nothing. My dream of representing Australia at the Olympics was gone in an instant.”

With the pain, came the sudden uncertainty of the path ahead.

“So, just as I have once before, I now find myself at another crossroads—considering retirement for the second time. But this time, I’m not alone. As I grapple with this decision, I can’t help but think of my fellow athletes, who have given their all but fallen short of the finish line,” she says. 

Behind every success there are countless ‘almost athletes’ – those who trained just as hard, cared just as much, but fell short at the finish line. Whether due to injury, non-selection, age, or the brutal simplicity of luck, many athletes face the shattering realisation that their careers are over, or at least severely impacted, by factors often outside of their control. But what happens next? How do they cope, and move on with their lives?

Missing the podium finish

Clinical Psychologist Dr Paul Jeffrey, who specialises in sports and performance psychology, says athletes who don’t quite make it to a professional level are usually not so different from the ones that do.

“One of the things that is important to realise is that the person who wins the gold medal is probably not training any harder or dedicating any more time than the person who hasn’t qualified.”

Dr Jeffrey, who works with athletes in various sporting areas and stages in their career, says it’s important to look at performance on three different levels: on the day of a race or competition; throughout the training schedule; and finally the context of the athlete – how they are able to maintain study, relationships or any other interests. 

“If athletes put all of their eggs in one basket and are not keeping up with vocational or educational training, or other parts of their lives, then they tend to put themselves at risk for burnout and potentially mental health issues. It’s an eternal juggling act between keeping some variety but also not spreading yourself too thin.”

There are two main circumstances where athletes may be in jeopardy when transitioning out of an elite sporting career, according to Dr Jeffrey. 

“If their trajectory has been interrupted in a way that the athlete perceives as premature, such as through an injury or non-selection, the athlete may believe that there is unfinished business and that their career was disrupted by something out of their control and external to them, which can tend to lead to more regret, depression and frustration,” he says. 

“Even if an athlete has been very successful at their elite sport, if their career comes to an end and they don’t have anything substantial to move on to, they struggle to find other roles that gives their life meaning and satisfaction.”

Dr Jeffrey says career transitions for athletes will often be difficult regardless of how their career ends.

“Even the best athletes are still likely to go through a period of adjustment, possibly grief and loss, and these are all just normal human responses to moving away from something that they are very familiar with and have loved and been committed to. Every athlete will go through some emotional ups and downs at the point that they are making the transition.”

But, he says athletes are best equipped to transition when encouraged to pursue interests aligned to their personal values, allowing them to move more smoothly into a new career area.

“We get them to think about their values as strongly as they think about their immediate and long term goals. It becomes a very important platform from which to operate effectively in elite sports, but also just as a human being,” he says.

“It may not be running fast around a track anymore, but it may be something in which I get to apply those principles and values.”

Dr Jeffrey says support in the transition space for athletes has improved greatly over the last decade, as professional teams and institutes have become more aware of the issue, and now dedicate staff and programs towards career development and wellbeing.

“There are still some people who slip through the gaps and shortcomings in funding and resourcing, but it’s certainly done better now than it used to be.”

From the sidelines

Australian artistic gymnast Georgia Godwin, who sustained an Achilles rupture in May which prevented her from competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics, says she is still navigating the feelings and emotions associated with her injury.

“Currently, my main focus is on my rehab and doing things that bring me joy. I’ll decide my future plans once I’m a little further down the recovery track.”

Ms Godwin, who first began gymnastics at three years old, says although the sport has taught her discipline, time management and organisation, she has faced challenges when it came to suffering injuries or dealing with non-selection. In her words, these were often “a 100% mental toll.”

While training and competing at an Olympic level, she studies medical imaging and maintains 15 hours a week of part-time work in order to solidify her future beyond gymnastics. 

“Hopefully in 20 years time, I’ll be in a hospital somewhere taking X-rays,” Ms Godwin says.

Preparing for the end from the beginning

At the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), Career Development Advisor Sara Heasly says athletes often find adjusting to life outside of their sport difficult, but programs that target career development early in an athlete’s sporting career can help to make the transition smoother.

“Athletes die twice in life. Once when their career finishes, and once when they take their last breath,” she says.

“If they haven’t already been working towards their future with work experience, study or building their network, it can be really isolating and difficult for them to transition. Sometimes they’ve put, say, 20 years of all their skills and knowledge into their sport and now they feel like they have no skills to use in the workplace.”

Currently, Australia’s national sporting framework is guided by the ‘WinWell’ 2032 High Performance Sport Strategy, which aims to enhance the development of Australian athletes to deliver better results in the lead-up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympics. In partnership with the Australian Sports Commission, Australian Institute of Sport, Australian Olympic Committee and several state or sport-specific organisations, WinWell focuses on four key priority areas: performance delivery, knowledge and practice, people and organisations and athlete performance pathways.

Launched in December 2022, the strategy includes a particular focus on transition out of sport, aiming to ensure that “athletes are prepared and supported during their transition out of the high performance pathway, whenever that may happen.”

Ms Heasly says the transition space had been called out as an area where Australia wasn’t doing well enough, so programs such as those offered at the AIS are important for supporting athletes. 

“We have a number of careers programs that athletes can get involved in to help them in their early career stage. Often athletes come in and they just want to be all in on being an athlete, and they don’t want to think about their future career. We know that if we can get them to start thinking about that and looking at what they might be interested in from an early age, they will have better traction to continue that and set themselves up well,” she says.

“The data and research will say that those who prepare for the eventual transition out of sport will transition far more successfully and quicker than those who don’t.”

The AIS funds several programs with their Wellbeing and Engagement team, such as the Workforce Development program and Career Practitioner Referral Network. These programs provide support for current and former athletes to explore alternative pathways through internships, scholarships, study and general career advice.

“We have ten career practitioners who are experts in career development and counselling, and are also very knowledgeable in sport as they have all worked in some capacity in sport. They really understand the athlete lens and what’s involved, and what they can fit in in their world. It’s quite a realistic approach,” says Ms Heasly.

“It’s a really good program that athletes rave about.”

For athletes not living at the AIS, the institute endorses a number of universities across Australia to provide programs as part of the Elite Athlete Education Network. In WA, Curtin University supports athletes through the Student Athlete Program, which provides career and study support catered specifically to high performing elite athletes and their schedules. 

Ms Heasley says although there are unique challenges for athletes when transitioning into new careers, they have many important transferable skills. 

“Going from the top of your career and being okay with knowing that you have to start again at the bottom can be a tricky thing, so can learning to mix with the rank and file,” she says.

Athletes will have very good communication skills – they know how to work with their sports team, if they have one, but also how to work with their performance team of coaches, psychologists, dieticians and strength and conditioning trainers. They have a great approach to communication and are very coachable.”

Some athletes choose to pursue careers related to sport, but many will be happy if they never have to look at anything sport-related again, says Ms Heasly. “They’ve usually enjoyed their time, but it’s just taken so much out of them and got to a point where they want to pursue other interests.”

“They’re really just like the general population. If you went to the local footy ground and you had all those people in the crowd, they’re all going to have different career interests even though they are all interested in the same sport. It’s very similar for athletes.”

The student athlete story

Rowan Kerr, a 20-year-old law student and elite triathlete, says initiatives such as the Student Athlete program have helped him to maintain his education and career development while chasing his elite sporting dreams. 

“I realised that I definitely needed to have some sort of backup plan and I couldn’t put all my eggs in one basket, so I decided to start studying,” he says. 

The Elite Athlete Development Program at Curtin provides flexible study plans and assessments, academic planning advice and complimentary gym membership for students who have been identified as Elite Athletes by the AIS, state sporting institutes, or any other national sporting organisation. 

After taking a gap year to focus on training, Rowan was told about the program while exploring tertiary study options at Curtin. He says the program has helped him to balance his study schedule alongside his vigorous training. 

Mr Kerr began competing in elite level triathlons in high school, and has since gone on to represent Australia on the world stage, most recently at the Multi-sport World Championships in Queensland. 

When I got to year 11 I decided that I really wanted to excel, so training picked up a lot. Sometimes it would mean training in the morning before school, then doing a full day at school, then training again in the afternoon. It was a hardcore grind,” he says.

Now, as an adult and full-time university student, Rowan trains throughout the week, all the whilst balancing study and a part-time job.

“On a typical week, I’ll train with a morning swim at about five-thirty, usually doing about five kilometres, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. After that we hit the gym and do an easy run or cycle in the afternoon. Tuesdays and Thursdays are a long cycle in the morning, typically about 70-80 kilometres, and then a run in the afternoon. Saturdays are the biggest days – we train all day with a long cycle, about 120 kilometres, a run, and then swimming in the afternoon. Sundays are then for our long runs,” Mr Kerr says.

He says his current focus, in line with the guidelines set by Triathlon Australia under the 2032 WinWell strategy, is to be a ‘high performing athlete’, competing at the elite level whilst still completing his degree. 

“You cannot set your target to be number one – not everyone is going to be number one. Sometimes your best could only be a top five finish, and that is something that you’re just going to have to live with. You always want to be better, but sometimes your body and mind can only take you so far. So, I’m focusing on being a high performing athlete.”