Date

4-29-2026

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education and Supervision (PhD)

Chair

Stacey Lilley

Keywords

hermeneutic phenomenology, lived experiences, Olympic medalists, sense of self, self-determination theory, existential grounding

Disciplines

Counseling | Psychology

Abstract

Olympic medalists are characterized by their commitment to performance excellence. While research has extensively examined factors that influence athletic outcomes, comparatively less attention has been paid to how elite athletes experience and make meaning of their own identities beyond sport. Despite possessing extraordinary personal resources, many struggle with identity foreclosure during transitions and mental health challenges at rates comparable to the general population. This hermeneutic phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of Olympic medalists as they perceive and describe their sense of self. Guided by van Manen's approach to human science research and informed by Self-Determination Theory, this inquiry examined how autonomy, competence, and relatedness were lived and negotiated among elite athletes. Six Olympic medalists participated in two in-depth interviews and a participant-generated photo elicitation process. The data analysis resulted in four existential structures: worth, self-authoring, intersubjective relating, and existential grounding. Findings indicated that performance-contingent worth confined identity and contributed to vulnerabilities, and self-authoring resurfaced as reclamation of agency within structured sport contexts and beyond. Experiences of being known relationally supported multidimensional identity integration, and existential grounding emerged as a stabilizing orientation across time and transition.

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