Balancing top sports, academics and careers is no easy task. But overall, Switzerland’s former top athletes manage the balance well, with education and employment levels above the Swiss population average.
This content was published on February 14, 2022 – 09:30
Please read the traditional Chinese version of this article click here
Former fencer Marcel Fischer, 43, was the epee gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics. While working as a professional athlete, he also studied medicine at the University of Basel. After retiring, he became an orthopedic surgeon.
Sergei Aschwanden, 46, won a bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He holds a master’s degree in sports management from the University of Lausanne and is currently a member of the canton of Vaud.
Sergei Aschwanden, bronze medalist in judo at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Keystone / Martial Trezzini
According to a study by the Institute of Sports Science at the University of Bern, the above two successful examples are not unique. Of the 341 Swiss male and female athletes who participated in the Olympic Games between 1988 and 2012, almost half (45.9%) received a degree from a comprehensive university or a university of applied sciences. The proportion was significantly higher than that of the general population (29.6%).
About research
The research team sent questionnaires to a total of 694 Swiss Olympians (33.7% women and 66.3% men who participated in the Olympic Games between 1988 and 2012), and 341 responded. The questions of the questionnaire relate to the current occupational status of the respondents and the impact of the career of top athletes on their career development after retirement.
32.8% of the respondents were women, 67.2% were men, the current average age was 47.1 years, and the average retirement age was 31.3 years.
15% of respondents have won at least one medal at the Olympics, and 32% have an Olympic participation certificate (awarded to the top 8 finalists in each event). According to Professor Achim Conzelmann, head of the study, the survey is the first to examine “the impact of the long-term top-level sports career of Swiss Olympians on their career transitions”.
Findings published in December 2021International Review for the Sociology of Sport (English)external link。
End of insertion
The study also showed that Olympians, both men and women, had higher educational and professional status than their peers.
Michael Schmid, who was involved in the study, told swissinfo.ch that several factors contributed to this phenomenon, including “the flexibility of the Swiss training system” and “the individual qualities of the athletes”.
No negative impact on business
Regarding the impact of sports on careers, 52.1% of former high-level athletes said that their careers delayed their entry into the workforce. However, 45.6% believed that an elite sports background facilitated their early career development. Another 35.4% believe that sports have no impact on their careers.
Only 19% said the athlete experience had a negative impact on their later career.
In addition, 62% of respondents said that the status of former elite athletes is conducive to the establishment of professional relationships; about 30% believe that there is no such impact; only 5.9% of former athletes believe that it has been negatively affected in this regard.
Skater Sarah Meier (first from left) retired as a journalist and participated in three Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002, Turin in 2006 and Vancouver in 2010. Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi
This trend is not unique to Switzerland. An earlier study of former high-level athletes in Germany showed that this group had higher levels of education and occupational status and lower unemployment. Another study in Spain similarly found that the unemployment rate of former Olympians was lower than the population average.
Magali Di Marco Messmer, a bronze medalist at the 2000 Sydney Olympics triathlon, started his own media company after retiring from work for major media groups. In 2021, she was elected to the Valais state assembly. Keystone / Laurent Gillieron
The researchers concluded that playing top-level sports not only did not hinder academic completion and career initiation, but, for most athletes, had a positive effect on the contrary.
However, with the increasing professionalization and commercialization of elite sports, it is difficult to estimate whether this trend will continue. Michael Schmid stressed. Over the past 30 years, the length of Swiss athletes’ careers has continued to lengthen, largely because “top sport as a profession is increasingly recognised and earning more and more”. In the long run, this could lead top athletes to reduce their investment in school and vocational training.
Compliant with JTI standards
Related content: SWI swissinfo.ch is accredited by the Journalism Trust Scheme
