ENGLISH TEXTS to make psychological support normal in the minds of athletes, to democratize it,” says Barbara Brès. A specific system is offered to athletes in career transition, depending on agreements made with various sports federations.“ For many of them, especially the injured or those not selected, it’ s more a career break than a transition to retirement. INSEP offers psychological support that can extend over a year.” Around fifteen athletes have requested to benefit from this recent program.
MENTAL HEALTH IN SPORT: BE- TWEEN AWARE- NESS AND TABOO
In 2019, the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, together with the Ministry of Sports, launched a call for projects with a € 20 million budget dedicated to very high-performance sport in preparation for the Paris 2024 Games. Among more than a hundred applications, Team-Sports was one of the 28 winners. With a budget of € 3.9 million, including € 1.2 million financed by the State, the program focuses on a crucial yet long-neglected issue: mental preparation and collective dynamics in elite sports. Led by the University of Rouen and carried out in partnership with ENSAM( École nationale supérieure d’ Arts et Métiers), the University of Paris-Saclay, the CEA
( French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), the University of Burgundy and several sports federations, Team- Sports brings together researchers, psychologists, and neuroscientists to optimize athletes’ performance while strengthening team cohesion. Since 2020, the project has also developed technological tools such as video monitoring and virtual environments, as well as training programs for coaches, in order to translate research into concrete actions on the field. In November 2024, a seminar held at the Maison du Handball in Créteil brought together major figures in French sport: Guillaume Gille, coach of the men’ s handball team, Vincent Collet, coach of the basketball team, Jérôme Daret, coach of the men’ s rugby sevens team, as well as Jean- Aimé Toupane and Olivier Krumbholz, coaches of the women’ s basketball and handball teams. All were able to exchange views on the importance of mental health and group dynamics for individual and collective performances at Paris 2024. Yet despite this progress, mental health remains a taboo subject in France. Judoka Teddy Riner, who has been followed since the age of 14, reminded us of this last June when he became ambassador for the Grande Cause Nationale 2025:“ My mental health is the element that made all the difference in my career.” Even in football, where Thomas Sammut— known for accompanying Olympic medalists Léon Marchand and Florent Manaudou— joined the women’ s team staff to oversee mental preparation. A step forward that was not followed by the men’ s team.
ELITE ATHLETES: WHEN VOICES ARE FREED
For several years now, elite athletes have increasingly dared to speak out about their mental health. By sharing their experiences, they help lift the taboo. This freedom of expression contributes to the destigmatization of mental health in the sporting world. Many initiatives are also emerging. At the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, a dedicated space for athletes’ mental health was set up in the Olympic village. In 2022, during the Beijing Games, a“ Mentally Fit” helpline was made available to athletes. At the Youth Winter Games in Gangwon, the educational booth“ Mind, Body and Me” was accessible to young athletes. Numerous testimonies show how much mental health is part of athletes’ daily lives. Sprinter Fanny Peltier explains:“ Sometimes you lock yourself into‘ I’ m an athlete and that’ s all I
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