{"id":424641,"date":"2020-03-26T10:03:39","date_gmt":"2020-03-26T17:03:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=424641"},"modified":"2020-03-26T11:28:23","modified_gmt":"2020-03-26T18:28:23","slug":"michael-phelps-prays-that-tokyo-2020-delay-will-not-cause-spike-in-sports-suicides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/michael-phelps-prays-that-tokyo-2020-delay-will-not-cause-spike-in-sports-suicides\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Phelps Prays That Tokyo 2020 Delay Will Not Cause Spike In Sports Suicides"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael Phelps<\/strong>, winner of 23 gold medals atop 28 Olympic podium places between 2004 and 2016, is praying “we don\u2019t see an increase in athlete suicide rates because of” the postponement of the Olympic Games in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

In an interview with NBC Sports,\u00a0<\/a>Phelps, an advocate for Mental Health and Wellbeing, on the back of his own depression and critic of the United States Olympic and Paraliymoic Committee<\/a>, said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI really, really hope we don\u2019t see an increase in athlete suicide rates because of this. Because the mental health component is by far the biggest thing here. This postponement is uncharted waters. We\u2019ve never seen this before. It was the right decision, but it breaks my heart for the athletes.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cYour whole life is pointed toward this moment,\u201d Michael Phelps tells NBC<\/strong>. \u201cAnd then this huge curveball. `Nope, you\u2019ve got to wait another year.\u2019 If this had happened to me, I would be completely flipping out at the uncertainty. I mean, speechless. Like, is this a bad dream?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of this is so hard to wrap your head around. I just feel really badly for all the athletes who have made it this far. On the one hand, I\u2019m relieved that they\u2019re getting another year, and rightfully so. But the waiting also makes it a lot more difficult.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n