Female Stars Putting Mental Health First
More and more elite stars of sport are seeing the importance of prioritising their mental well being.
Late last week, Matildas forward Cortnee Vine announced she was making herself unavailable for national selection in the upcoming four match home friendly series against Brazil and Chinese Taipei.
It’s not the first time the speedy winger has taken this step, having also sat out some Matildas and A-League matches in February this year. Vine returned from that break to produce some amazing football for Sydney FC, playing a crucial role in their second straight Championship and then being selected for her first Olympic Games. Having had that break at the beginning of 2024, Vine told HER WAY after brace of goals in Sydney’s 3-1 win against Western United in March,
“At the moment I’m just trying to enjoy my football, and it’s showing on the field.”
Those who have followed the elite football league for some time have already loved watching Vine play, amazed at her ability to turn opponents inside out with electric speed, and the declaration of ‘Vine Time’ when she takes the field or scores. But her profile rose dramatically after the 2023 World Cup when she scored THAT penalty, which sent her on a dash around Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium as the entire nation leapt to its feet. Life changed in that instant for the Queensland native, and for someone who is not necessarily used to or entirely comfortable in the limelight, she suddenly found herself a household name, not to mention very recognisable.
Chatting to Cortnee for a story that TV show The Project were doing on HER WAY in October last year, Vine told me about how her life changed:
“After that penalty I feel like everyone is recognising me now. Just doing everyday things - walking down the street getting my coffee, going to get my groceries.”
Vine has been based with North Carolina Courage in the American NWSL since the Paris Olympics, away from the Australian football bubble, but has still felt the need to prioritise her mental health over international matches in these last few weeks of 2024. In a social media post last week, Vine said,
“Like many who face mental health challenges, I have good days and my difficult ones, but every day is a lesson in learning to find the right balance. For now, I need to focus on taking care of myself, which is why I am taking some time off.”
Vine’s decision seems to have been met with overwhelming support and understanding. The 26 year old is extremely popular among young fans - having attended a Sydney FC game just last weekend, there were far more Sky Blue shirts with Cortney’s number 11 on the back than any other. It can only be beneficial for others to see someone such as Vine publicly state it’s ok to put yourself first.
In a lot of ways, the mental health area is still one which many in the elite sporting area are learning to manage. However it’s encouraging that many high profile female athletes are feeling confident and secure enough to both ask for help, and share with their fans the reason for taking time away from the sporting arena. After all, taking care of the mental aspect of our health should be seen as equal with taking care of other parts of our bodies that require maintenance or preservation.
Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles was one of the first big names of the sporting world to speak openly and honestly about their mental health journey, when she withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics after experiencing the ‘twisties’- a mental blockage often experienced by gymnasts. Biles talks very clearly and helpfully about that time of her career in a Netflix documentary which was released around the Paris Olympics. Having returned to win more World Championships and Olympic gold since she stepped away from the sport, Biles continues to be an advocate for mental health care. In fact, a survey conducted by ‘The Female Quotient’ earlier this year indicated that 63% of of the 1000 women surveyed felt more inspired to prioritise their own mental health as a result of the discussion started by Biles.
Australia’s own Olympic champion, butterfly star Kaylee McKeown, is another who has chosen to put her own mental health first as 2024 closes. Kaylee reinforced her status as an All-time great this year by breaking World Records, claiming another two Olympic gold medals, then breaking another World Record at the National Short Course Champs in September.
While McKeown had committed to racing in the three event Swimming World Cup - a series she dominated last year (and claimed a big payday at), she withdrew from December’s Short Course World Champs Australian squad. However after winning the 50m Backstroke in a World Cup record time at October’s first World Cup meet in Shanghai, McKeown withdrew from the rest of that weekend and remainder of the series, announcing on Instagram that she too needed a break:
“Putting my mental health first, I’ve decided to cut my experience short. As an athlete it’s so important to listen to your heart and know when enough is enough.”
Internal pressures and expectations aside, there are many factors that can weigh down today’s athletes. The real or perceived pressure to show the successful and glamorous side of themselves on social media in order to make themselves more marketable and appealing to sponsors, so they can make a living from their sport, can at times hide a darker reality we the fans don’t see.
In an effort to create national pride and support, media can get caught up in placing expectations on athletes, which the public can latch onto. At the recent Paris Paralympics, I recall one well intentioned reporter asking the parents of a teenage Aussie athlete how many medals their daughter was going to win. Expectations placed on young women athletes, often from sports which are largely ignored for three out of every four years, can suddenly be daunting and overwhelming when placed in the spotlight.
The attention demanded by media, sponsors and fans on these young women after a significant sporting achievement is something most of us will never experience, and so it’s hard to put ourselves in their shoes. Having covered both football and swimming events at times over the past 12 months, I’ve seen first hand the large numbers of crowd members calling out to Cortnee Vine, and I’ve been part of a large media group at press conferences with high profiled swimmers such as Kaylee. The way these women conduct themselves under such scrutiny and demand is impressive. Media, corporate and fan commitments all come with the territory of being an elite athlete who aim to make a living doing what they love. But above all they are humans, and each human has different limitations of what they enjoy, and perhaps can endure.
The words and actions of athletes with a high profile like Biles, McKeown and Vine are powerful and inspiring. They are at the top of their sports, which means their words reach a big audience and are impactful. A young athlete who strives to be like them can only be encouraged by their bravery. But does a rising star, yet to prove themselves at an elite level, have the same ability to take a break from their sport for mental health care, without it being seen as a weakness or worrying that they will impact their chances of achieving their goals?
Aussie basketball star Anneli Maley was just 17 years old at the AIS Centre of Excellence in Canberra when she took a break from the sport (Maley “ended up quitting basketball” as she told The Pick and Roll website) after experiencing depression and panic attacks. While these are factors Anneli continues to manage, she has built an impressive career so far, winning medals with the Australian Opals at the 2022 World Cup, 2023 Asian Cup, has claimed an WNBL MVP Award and became an Olympian in Paris with the 3x3 Gangurrus.
Jemima Montag claimed two racewalking bronze medals at the Paris Olympics, but she almost gave the sport away entirely as a 17 year old, with self doubts and negative thoughts about her body. In 2022 she told HER WAY about that period of her life and what she was thinking:
“‘I don’t feel excited about the sport anymore. I don’t feel that I could earn this [Australian] uniform and go to the Olympic Games, so what’s the point?’ So that’s basically where I was at.”
Montag continued to compete at school even during her elite hiatus, but after a chat with one of her sisters, rediscovered her love of racewalking, and now through her ‘Play On’ initiative, the national record holder strives to help girls understand their bodies and thoughts, and how both can impact their approach to sport.
Cricketer Sophie Molineux was just 19 years old and at the start of her international career when she made the decision to put her mental health first, just six months before the T20 World Cup in Australia. Her decision was particularly brave given she was hardly an automatic selection in a star-studded team, however after Cricket Australia supported her break, Molineux came back and was out front dancing to Katy Perry onstage at the MCG as the Australian team secured the World Cup. Still only 25 years old, Molineux is the current captain of the Melbourne Renegades, captained the Australian Governor-General’s XI earlier this year and is a valued member of the national squad.
Recently, the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series held its finale in Sydney. Canadian Molly Carlson has had a great rivalry throughout the season with Australia’s Rhiannan Iffland, and the two friends and archrivals are in many ways the face of the sport. Carlson has a huge social media following, with nearly 4 million TikTok followers as she shows her fans what it’s like jumping off 20 metre platforms in some of the world’s most beautiful locations.
On the eve of the Sydney finals, Molly posted a message to her followers to advise that she wouldn’t be competing due to an injury she had been managing. While Molly’s decision was due to a physical injury rather than mental health, she detailed a feeling of being ‘so anxious’ about the decision.
“We’re all making a difference, we’re all being brave in our own way, and for me the bravest thing to do here was to actually say no to diving”, Molly told HER WAY.
Bravery is an important concept for Molly, but not in the sense of jumping off high platforms or pushing through injuries. Molly created an online community called ‘Brave Gang’, which is all about fostering vulnerability, honesty and encouragement in a safe space so that people can share about the anxieties and fears in their lives. On the eve of the Sydney Harbour diving final, ‘Brave Gang’ shared a quote by American academic Brené Brown,
“Daring to set boundaries is about having the courage to love ourselves even when we risk disappointing others.”
While I’ve spoken here predominantly about athletes taking a break from their sport for their mental health, high diving is good for Molly’s, as she told HER WAY:
“For me, I have a lot of anxiety in my life, and that three seconds in the air is the only time my brain is silent. It’s so magical for me, and it’s just me in the air doing the sport that I love, and I crave that feeling all the time - to not be anxious, and to do what I love is really beautiful.”
Two conflicting things are undeniably true; women’s sport is on the rise globally, and girls drop out of playing sport after primary school at a much higher rate than boys.
Encouragingly, research also shows that girls who stay playing sport, at whatever level that may be, have 1.5 times higher levels of meaning and purpose than those who don’t stay active, and mental health disorders are 1.5 to 2.5 times lower for girls who play sport (Study from Women’s Sports Foundation, April 2024).
Having brave and incredible role models like these women, and others like them who have publicly put their mental health first, show that when empowered to seek help and managed well, athletes who enjoy what they do are better equipped to perform to the best of their ability. Ultimately, as fans of sporting stars, we must remind ourselves that they are humans first and athletes second, and our expectations of them do not come before their own right to be happy and healthy.
Best article I've ever read about this subject 👏