On the basis of a viewpoint of career development of athletes, this study was conducted to analyze how Olympic gold medalists have lived their athletic lives prior to winning their gold medals, and how their lives changed by having won it. We studied the “life history” of a member of the Japanese team that won the gold medal in the team competition of the Nordic combined race in the Winter Olympic Games.
The athlete started ski jumping in a junior ski club and specialized in the combined race from the time he was a junior high school student. In senior high school, he dedicated himself to hard training, and could take part in the junior world championship as a member of the Japan’s National team. At that time, he also took the crown in the inter-high-school athletic competition. We call his athletic career until the age of junior high school “the stage of introduction and foundation,” his time in senior high school “the stage of reinforcement and dramatic progress, ” his university years “ the stage of stagnation with enjoyment,” and the following years “the stage of finishing”. This career will become a model to suggest that childhood is the foundational period for developing competence in sport performance, and will also show that the period of stagnation before his peak of sport performance was successful. During this period of stagnation, the athlete aspired to compete in the Olympic Games. We find that there were numerous factors involved in his career up until the point that he won the gold medal. In this athlete’s story, various coaches and supporters (e.g., parents) appear in each stage of his career.
Winning the gold medal was a supremely positive experience to this athlete, and has changed his life for the better. For example, he has been in the spotlight and gained a lot of confidence and thus was financially successful. In his second career, after he retired from being an athlete, he has received requests to give lectures from many schools, and has given television commentary on the combined ski race. His celebrity has also operated to his advantage in his business.
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