When people often think of olympic greats, a few names come to mind. Often people think of individuals like Usain Bolt, or Simone Biles. Or oftentimes they think of one of the United States’s greatest athletes: Michael Phelps.

Over his career, Phelps has amassed 28 olympic medals including two bronze medals, three silver, and 23 gold. With the most gold medals achieved by any athlete in the world, people often thought of Phelps as someone who was on top of the world–someone that can conquer anything they put their mind to. Yet on top of this god-like pedestal, his fans often forget that he is a person just like them.

In a damning article done by Healthline, reporter Cathy Cassata outlines the countless mental health struggles that Phelps went through during his swim career. Although there were countless up’s throughout his 16 year olympic regime, the people around him often got too focused on his physical strength and being the best and overlooked his mental health: something that people often argue matters the most.

“Throughout my career, I had a team of people around me that were paying attention to my physical health. If I needed to get stronger, there were 10 people finding out ways for me to get stronger. But mentally that wasn’t the case,” Phelps said.

In sports, and often with men, mental health and mental capacity are often overlooked. This is especially true for a sport like swimming in which swimming is incredibly individualistic. The focus is not on the team but rather on the individual and how they perform; this is much like bodybuilding and powerlifting as mentioned in previous blog posts.

But why do male athletes often shy away from getting the mental health help they need? Why is there this “stigma” around getting help that people often put aside when mental health should be at the forefront of one’s physical well being? In another article done by Healthline, Dr. Raymond Hobbs, a physician, commented on this phenomenon.

“I think part of it may be this macho thing,” he said. “A lot of guys don’t want to admit they have this problem. They still see depression as a sign of weakness.” 

As a swimmer myself, I felt like the topic of mental health in a sport like swimming is more personal to me. Sure, I have lifted weights and felt the grind of being alone in the weight room, but for some reason there is nothing like the feeling of rock bottom as you stand there gazing out at a cold swimming pool in the dead of winter at 5 in the morning. 

And then you start swimming, staring at the same black line that lines the lane every day. Doing the same exact excruciating sets, putting your body through hell only to do it again in the afternoon. Then the next day, the cycle repeats.

As you continue to swim day in and day out, the unfortunate truth is you know you can’t tell anyone about it. There is this feeling that the mental health issues that one deals with is “just part of the grind”, and that things will eventually get better. Yet, as seen through Phelp’s battles with mental health, sometimes things don’t get better.

As the years have progressed, Phelps has started to become more of an advocate for mental health. “I think [the stigma] is dropping a little bit and for me, it’s incredible to see that. It’s incredible to see people talking about their own journey, their own way, and sharing their own stories,” he said.

In my opinion, the first way to combat mental health in sports is to bring awareness to the situation. For too long people have gone by without expressing their concerns and struggles through life, yet mental well being is just as important–if not more important than physical health. As I have stressed before and will countless times over, mental health battles are never something that should be dealt with alone. This is prevalent through college students, high school student athletes, and even those at the top of the game like Michael Phelps. The time to end the mental health pandemic is now, and it all starts with a new generation and a new mindset to accept the challenges that face us and move forward with accepting grace by getting the help we need. Until next time, this is achieving greatness.