Sports Centre – Issue 08

What happened when Edmond Hillary got off the Mountain? It is a question that has been plaguing me a lot lately. I’ve been fortunate to know many high-achieving athletes, and I have watched one of them recently grapple with the idea of what’s next. For context, it is someone who played for New Zealand, went to the Olympics, turned their passion into a career overseas, and is now trying to figure out who they are outside of a context that has forever defined them.

And It is a story that is all too common in sports. I am not talking about the Millionaire athletes who waste their money and never adjust to life, I am talking about the ones who have made something their sole ambition. What happens when you finally achieve what you want?

And when do you stop? It was an emotional time watching the Masters and seeing McIlroy finally take his place among the elite to get his Grand Slam. But what happens next? The Penrith Panthers clearly decided four was enough, and the standard dropped. Bobby Charlton and George Best stopped talking because one was happy winning one European Cup.

The truth is probably that those who are truly gifted are just never satisfied. With all the titles, all the accolades, and their place as one of the elites in the game, completely assured, what do they even do? Does Jordan look back with regret about his years in Baseball or does he just keep fucking around on a golf course because he has more money than many developing countries?

As a column, I recognise there are many more questions than answers here. The truth is, I know plenty of people who have been able to draw a line in their playing careers and say they achieved all they set out to do; they can move on to the next chapter. But there is still a worrying number of people whose hauora was so tied to a perception of who they are and what it would feel like to conquer their own Everest that they have no idea what to do when they come down from the mountain.