The COVID-19 pandemic and Olympic/Paralympic athletes' developmental challenges and possibilities in times of a global crisis-transition

Our aim in this invited commentary is to stimulate discussion among sport psychology researchers and practitioners regarding the unique developmental challenges and possibilities that Olympic and Paralympic athletes are undergoing during their final - extended year of the Tokyo 2020 quadrenium. We begin the commentary with COVID-19 pandemic (C-19) context setting, proceed with discussing transitional and holistic perspectives on athletes' Olympic/Paralympic journey, outline three potential pathway scenarios and C-19 as a possibility-provider coping (meta-) scenario for Olympic/Paralympic athletes, and finalise our commentary with a summary of messages intended to invite further discussion and collaboration.

Automated summary

The aim of this invited commentary is to stimulate discussion among sport psychology researchers and practitioners about the unique developmental challenges and possibilities that Olympic and Paralympic athletes are facing during their final - extended year of the Tokyo 2020 quadrennium. The commentary starts with the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses the transitional and holistic perspectives on athletes' Olympic/Paralympic journey. It outlines three potential pathway scenarios and presents COVID-19 as a possibility-provider coping strategy for Olympic/Paralympic athletes. The commentary concludes with a summary of messages intended to invite further discussion and collaboration.