AI and mental health kits to help Olympians with pressure and abuse

WWhen it comes to sports success stories, anyone would be hard-pressed to find more impressive elite athletes than Simone Biles, Bryony Page and Holly Bradshaw. But while the trio are fierce competitors and multiple medalists, they are also notable for their openness about athletes’ mental health.

In the summer of 2021, Biles pulled out of the women’s gymnastics team final at the Tokyo Olympics saying she had lost her sense of air and admitted she was still afraid to do gymnastics months later. Pole vaulter Bradshaw expressed concerns earlier this year about injuring herself in the pursuit of sporting achievement, while British gymnast Page has opened up about her struggles with lost skills syndrome, which, she says, fueled anxiety ahead of the Rio Olympics.

Even before Biles brought high-profile global exposure to the problem, the International Olympic Committee had recognized the need to support athletes and established a mental health toolkit for competitors ahead of Tokyo. With a new Games in sight in Paris 2024, this has been updated and new measures implemented.

The upcoming Games will be used to promote well-being and the IOC has launched a mindfulness program offering 2,000 licenses to athletes for the Calm app as a daily attempt to support mental health and well-being. A mental health helpline will also be available. In addition, any Olympian competing in Paris, and for four years afterwards, can access mental health, wellbeing and support in their home country in over 70 different languages. Next to a gym, the intention is to have a mental fitness zone, a space intended for mental decompression to beat the noise of the Olympic village. The Games will also use AI to stamp out social media abuse.

Kirsty Burrows, head of the IOC’s safe sports unit, says these environments are essential inclusion for athletes. They should feel that there are support systems around them. They need to feel that if they have any concerns about mental health or wellbeing or any area, that they can talk and that they can seek support. And there are systems in place to help them do that, says Burrows.

This is all part of a plan to promote better mental health outcomes at all levels by 2026, with Paris 2024 acting as a barometer of how the program is progressing. Burrows confirms that the IOC is implementing systems to support athletes where the governing body has direct control, such as at the Olympics, and is also helping other organizations outside of these events; national federations and national Olympic committees, to give more priority to psychological safety.

This summer’s measures will be based on the mental health action plan drawn up by the IOC last July. Updates to the mental health toolkit developed by the same body in 2021 mean it outlines a step-by-step approach for sports organizations or members of the athlete medical environment on how to foster psychologically safe sporting environments. It also has an overview of mental health symptoms and disorders, as well as their prevalence at the elite level.

Psychiatrist Alan Currie, who sits on the IOC’s mental health task force, has applauded the collaborative nature of the process, with some athletes becoming active ambassadors. It is largely athlete driven and we have had athlete representation on the task force since its inception. Core members around the table are invaluable, Currie says. So I think possibly one of the best things we’ve done in this space is to remember who the sport is for and make sure that the voices of the athletes are heard.

Bradshaw described the post-Olympic blues in her research contribution to an academic paper in which 14 anonymous athletes spoke of being treated like medal-winning machines and struggled to cope with the experience after a Games. These athletes favor the movement to include them in the process.

Alongside this provision of mental health support, the IOC works to address the effects of abuse and discrimination on athletes. A study published last November by the University of Stirling found that abuse of footballers, a sport at this summer’s Games, often goes unchecked on social media. This includes misogynistic and sexualised comments which, when left unchecked, become normalized and acceptable to clubs and their supporters. The IOC is launching a discovery tool for accredited athletes and media that uses AI to recognize when there is targeted abuse. It is flagged and sent for human triage, with anything confirmed as abuse then removed from the platform before the individual sees it. Any offending content will then be referred to law enforcement. It is hoped the tool could be used this summer to further insulate athletes from abuse.

15 million people are expected to attend the Summer Games in Paris compared to 20,000 for the Covid-interrupted games in Tokyo, which will likely bring its own challenges and more pressure on athletes. But for the first time all parties seem well placed to weather the storm.