An athlete's experience of chronic illness in sport: The self illness took

Abstract

This study aims to illuminate the identity dilemmas that arise when an athlete becomes chronically ill in sport. It takes an autoethnographic approach to exemplify such issues and develop a deeper insight into my personal experiences as a female athlete with chronic fatigue syndrome. From a perspective informed by Frank (1995) and Goffman (1969, 1990 [1963]) the themes that emerged from my personal narratives were centred on the consequences of sport producing athlete’s with disciplined bodies and machine characteristics. From acknowledging the ways in which sport and athletes value the body in sport, methods in which sport, coaches and athletes can improve the experiences of those chronically ill and experiencing dramatic self change are discussed