NEW YORK: The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee has raised the bar for mental health services in sports, USOPC Senior Director of Psychological Services Jess Bartley said Monday.
The topic of mental health, once considered taboo in the demanding world of elite sport, has been brought to the fore, thanks in part to American gymnast Simone Biles, who rewrote guidelines for athlete health at the Tokyo Games three years ago. It was.
“There’s nothing wrong with focusing on your mental health,” Bartley says.
“We’ve really, really improved the level of service, the quality of service that all of our athletes get when it comes to their mental health, and I don’t think this is the end.”
The USOPC took a more proactive approach to athlete mental health at the Beijing Games, learning lessons from Biles and focusing on crisis prevention and maintenance.
Bartley, who joined the USOPC in a newly created position in 2020, said sleep hygiene is a big focus heading into this summer’s Paris Games.
“We talk about jet lag and how you can travel with us and how you can put sleep hygiene first,” she told reporters at the Team USA Media Summit in New York. told.
“There are a lot of things that will be part of mental health that we can move forward with, not just for Paris, but for LA[Los Angeles 2028].”
