Are we starting to realise the limits of 'mental fitness'?
The withdrawal by Simone Biles from the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental wellbeing has prompted discussion about the pressures on athletes and how these impact on their health.
Mark Boyns founded Opening Up Cricket to promote mental wellbeing in the cricket. He founded the organisation in memory of his friend Alex Miller, who took his life in 2012. He explains the dangers of contractual elements in sports, where cricket players are expected to give interviews after a day's cricket, and how the pandemic may have prompted people to take their mental health more seriously.
"Maybe people are starting to realise, for all the benefits that are there, [a career in sport] is still incredibly demanding and people's mental fitness has limits."
Photo: A cricketer sitting in a changing room. Credit: Getty Images
