Olympic athletes, a community with its own time

Abstract

The construction of an athletic career is shaped by various factors. The Olympic Games, held every four years, create a significant time marker for athletes. Whether in team or individual sports, participation in major events is often intertwined with the development of a sense of belonging to a group—other athletes and members of coaching staffs who are peers and contemporaries. This article aims to analyze the trajectories of three Brazilian Olympic athletes—two from a team sport and one from an individual sport—in order to understand how the concepts of time and belonging to a specific community within the sports environment are constructed, using the methodology of biographical narratives. As a conclusion, we observe that, far beyond a linear timeline, an athletic career is built in a cyclical format. Furthermore, the sense of belonging to groups is formed not only during moments of competition, but also through the sharing of meaningful experiences at other times, such as during training, travel, and team bonding moments.