MENTAL HEALTH AND SPORTS RETIREMENT IN ANTIOQUIA'S ATHLETES WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC GAMES

Stopping sports training in an abrupt manner and without the due process can generate problems such as weight gain, predisposition to sport injuries, cardiovascular difficulties, and psychological disorders which may include depression, anxiety, psychoactive substance use, unresolved grief and emotional crises as a result of the loss of sport identity. The purpose of the research is to establish how the retirement transition process from sports for athletes who have participated in Olympic and Paralympic games, taking into account their mental health, is made. For which, a mixed research was conducted with 18 former athletes from Antioquia in the modalities of artistic gymnastics ( 2), Olympic wrestling (3), athletics (1), boxing (4), cycling (4), swimming (2), judo (1), and Paralympic marathon (1) to whom an interview and the GHQ28 questionnaire was applied. The results showed that although the mental health of the athletes is currently preserved, at the time of retirement there were multiple symptoms associated with mental disorders such as anxiety and depression; it was also identified that there are no systematic detraining processes that favor physical and mental health in the process of sports retirement.