Sprinter Ellie Beer reveals emotional toll of being elite athlete at 16
Australian sprinter Ellie Beer discusses the intense psychological pressure she faced as an elite athlete starting at age 16. She details her struggle with performance anxiety and the difficulty of transitioning from a junior to a senior competitor.
Why it matters
It highlights the often-overlooked mental health challenges faced by young athletes in high-pressure professional sports environments.
Ellie Beer is a dual Olympian but the pressure of being in the spotlight almost ended her running career. ( Getty Images: Cameron Spencer )
Link copied Share Share article At age 16, 400 metre runner Ellie Beer was exceeding expectations.
She was the new kid on the block in Australian sprinting, smashing her personal best (PB) time and making history.
But maintaining that level of performance was all-consuming.
"It was just spotlight moment after spotlight moment," Beer tells ABC Sport.
"I remember feeling the pressure of what others were thinking.
"I felt like I had to rise to the occasion, like every race I had to run a PB and that it would be good enough."
It took another five agonising years for Beer to beat her 2019 PB of 52.53 seconds.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in