“The sun will still rise whether you’re an Olympian or not”: Exploring the changes in psychological state across four phases of injury rehabilitation among international figure skaters
Smokler J, Simm I. · PsyArXiv · 2026
Injury is inherent within elite sport, often resulting in significant physical and psychological challenges. However, limited research has explored how elite figure skaters experience and interpret injury within the unique demands of their sport. This study aimed to examine the lived experiences of injury and rehabilitation among elite, international figure skaters. Eleven skaters (7 female, 4 male, M age = 24.09 years, SD = 4.36) with an average of 18.64 years of skating experience (SD = 4.15) participated in semi-structured interviews, derived from sport injury rehabilitation literature, conducted via Microsoft Teams. Interviews ranged from 31 to 102 minutes (M = 62.81, SD = 25.60). Data were analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis. Analysis revealed two overarching themes that progressed across injury recovery: psychological adaptation and reconstruction of athletic identity.
Findings: indicated that skaters initially experienced shock and catastrophic thinking, before progressing through sustained uncertainty, and active coping. Injury also challenged athletes’ sense of self, with skaters describing loss of
Purpose: , and subsequent identity reconstruction though increased self-awareness and resilience. Evaluations, future research directions, and implications of
findings are also discussed. Overall,
findings are also discussed. Overall, findings highlight injury recovery as both psychological and physical, emphasising the importance of psychologically informed support throughout injury recovery.