Mentoring of Para-Athletes and Its Impact on the Preparation Process for the 2020 Paralympic Games

Many factors contribute to successful athletic performance, and athletes have reported that mentors have played a vital role in their athletic performance as well as their personal development. Mentoring relationships can have a transformative impact on people’s lives, and mentored athletes, either by peers or coaches, have higher levels of dedication, confidence, and individual performance. Having a mentor is critically important during unexpected challenges in life such as was the case with the extraordinary uncertainty for para-athletes during the postponement of the 2020 Paralympic Games. The purpose of this study was to explore how mentoring aided para-athletes’ navigating the challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings revealed that para-athletes from the United States who were preparing for the 2020 Paralympics had three primary sources of mentoring support: coach-athlete mentoring, peer mentoring, and social mentoring. Three themes were also derived from the interviews: (a) encouragement, (b) accountability, and (c) motivation to train. There is a need for para-athlete mentoring, and understanding mentoring support during challenging times in athlete development can be critical to their athletic performance.