US Olympic Cyclist Dies by Suicide

US Olympic Cyclist Dies by Suicide

NEWSER) – USA Cycling says it has suffered a "devastating loss" with the death of Kelly Catlin, a track cyclist who helped the women's pursuit team win silver at the 2016 Rio Games. Relatives say the 23-year-old died by suicide at her Stanford University campus residence Friday night, Reuters reports. "There isn’t a minute that goes by that we don’t think of her and think of the wonderful life she could have lived," father Mark Catlin tells VeloNews. "There isn’t a second in which we wouldn’t freely give our lives in exchange for hers. The hurt is unbelievable." Catlin won gold with the US women's team at the world championships in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

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It's not unusual for high-performers to have mental issues. It's a shame to see this happen to someone this young of an age.

Bummer.

One of her (triplet) sisters said that she just hadn't been the same since a concussion three months ago.

nota bene said:

One of her (triplet) sisters said that she just hadn't been the same since a concussion three months ago.

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Head trauma can certainly change a person's personality.

calamity said:

It's not unusual for high-performers to have mental issues.

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It’s not unusual for people in general to have mental health issues. It’s just more likely to in the public eye when it effects professional athletes.

HonestJoe said:

It’s not unusual for people in general to have mental health issues. It’s just more likely to in the public eye when it effects professional athletes.

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My understanding is that the intense amount of drive required to be world class at anything, be it chess or cycling, is not normal. Obviously.

It takes freakish determination to be world class at anything.

calamity said:

My understanding is that the intense amount of drive required to be world class at anything, be it chess or cycling, is not normal. Obviously.

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True, though even that extends in to fields that wouldn’t garner as much or indeed any media attention. More significantly, mental health issues can be triggered by all sorts of things, including those which may well seem insignificant to anyone else. It isn’t the actual intensity of a world-class career in your field that is the problem, it’s your internal perception of the intensity regardless of the actual context. If mental health was rational, it wouldn’t be so difficult to deal with.

It is just dangerous to feed the impression that this kind of thing is more common in people generally perceived to be at the top of their career or in intense environments. I’m sure you didn’t intend to present that impression but it needed clarifying all the same.

Michael Phelps suffered with depression/Suicidal thoughts. This illness can effect any one at any time.
There is help if you are able to seek it out. Depression is a terrible condition to deal with.

Michael Phelps Opens Up About His Struggles With Depression and Thoughts of Suicide

Michael Phelps Opens Up About Depression and Thoughts of Suicide

Michael Phelps is known for being the most decorated Olympian of all time, but the 33-year-old retired swimmer wants to be recognized for something else, too: his willingness to talk about his battle with depression.

This week, Phelps spoke out about dealing with depression at the Talkspace Conference: Mental Health & Young Americans. Phelps is a shareholder and advisory board member for Talkspace, the popular online counseling service.

"I have a chance to save a life, and that’s way bigger than ever winning any gold medals," he said to the audience in New York City. Although six million American men experience depression daily, so few guys rarely speak about their experiences. But Phelps wants everyone to know, "It’s OK to not be OK."

The legendary swimmer tells MensHealth.com how therapy saved his life.

Very sad news. RIP. She was a really impressive track cyclist.